For 1000 Years
by ObakeAri
Summary: With a great track record and a powerful daiyoukai at her side, Minko felt on top of the world. Nothing could bring her down. When the gods have other plans in store, however, Minko suddenly finds herself alone in a world unkown to any priestess, with a vengeful demon on her trail. And worse, she never had the chance to confess her feelings to her silver-haired hero. Sesshomaru/OC
1. A Girl named Minko

Hello again everybody! So despite promising myself that I would finally finish Eyes of the Soul...my muse took me to another Inuyasha fanfic! XD Well, my muse plus the SessKag fandom pulling me in and drowning me in it...I still don't understand why it's so perfect but...*drools*...anyway! No, this is NOT SessKag...there are PLENTY of those floating around (and I love OC's...). This is an idea I've had for a very long time...so I hope my inner middle school student doesn't come out and turn this into a cheesy copy-cat fic with Mary Sues everywhere _ .

Also, *points to title* yeah, this is kind of based off the song "A Thousand Years". Kind of. And yes, my shipping of SessKag might have slightly influenced my plans for my OC. But only slightly. Please don't judge meeeeeee! XD

Anyway, I'm giving my random writing impulses a shot and going for this one. Let's see how it goes!

ENJOI

* * *

She was named after her mother. While her mother protested that not allowing a child her own identity was a display of crude arrogance, the father insisted upon the name. Back then, he had claimed he only felt the name was beautiful, and would be a good omen for the child to bear the same moniker as her blessed and powerful mother. But perhaps, now looking back, the name was only meant to instill fear in the child's future enemies as the father saw, even in her most vulnerable moments, that the mother would become a priestess of legend. Names did hold more meaning than the faces which belonged to them after all.

The mother gave in and agreed with her lover's decision. She could not argue with him after all. Not only was he powerful, more so than any youkai the priestess had ever encountered, but she loved him and she could not deny him his wish. Yet still, she did not want to bind her only daughter to the same fate as her by sharing a name. And so, the mother referred to her child affectionately as Minko. Very seldom would Minko hear her official name uttered to her ears, especially after her mother's death.

Minko…such a carefree spirit. It was true that she was a half-breed, but not in the way most beings who lived in her time thought of. And much to the surprise of any human who saw her and her mother, despite her supposed lineage, the child's aura was nothing short of heavenly. And when she began miko training….Minko's mother couldn't help but notice the greed in the feudal lord's eye upon the discovery of the great potential the young child had.

Minko knew that she was different from a young age. Like most half-breeds, she was feared by humans. However, unlike any half-breed, she was not condemned for her lineage. The humans she encountered knew she was not human, but they couldn't see any trace of demon within her. Feared, but not hated. It was a strange and lonely life for the little girl.

The most striking difference the girl couldn't help but observe came at the start of Obon. Minko had heard that there were specific points in time when half-breeds would lose their powers and become entirely human for a short period of time. Minko felt the exact opposite. She didn't know what it felt like to be human, or "demon" as she figured she was partially. All she knew was that her spiritual power never leaved. But during those three days when the dead rejoined their loved ones, Minko couldn't help but notice the exponential increase in her strength and energy. It almost felt as if she _gained_ the powers expected of a half-breed during the festival. But the most noticeable change came at the end of Obon, just as the moon began to rise.

Minko remembered how her mother would always leave at the start of the festivities, allowing Minko to participate in Bon Odori and other games on her own. Though Minko never told her mother, the child also escaped the festivities before it grew too dark or her changes would become more noticeable. She would wander just a ways outside the village and rest at the bank of the river, in a soft quiet patch of green where the water was calmest. Few knew of this clearing as it was hidden by trees and the start of a forest that was supposedly haunted by youkai, but Minko never ran into trouble in that clearing. She would sit and stare up at the moon, wondering about her father—she only saw him twice before her mother's death—and then stare down at her own reflection, wondering why she seemed so different, even for a half-breed. She looked entirely human. Her silky black curls danced elegantly down her back, shining with such health it emitted a blue hue like the night sky. Her porcelain skin was colored delicately with pink cheeks and rosy lips. But on these nights, she only ever focused on her eyes—the only evidence that she was not human. As the moon rose high into the night sky the last night of Obon, just before the start of Toro Nagashi, when the villagers released paper lanterns to guide their loved ones back to the afterlife, Minko would stare at her normally blue eyes as the sapphires slowly lost their color, changing to a soft off-white resembling the moon. As the night grew old, her eyes would begin to glow brightly, and sometimes, even brighter than the lanterns.

It was on a night such as this when she met him for the first time. She was merely a child at the age of ten, but that confrontation with a lonely boy on a lonely night was just enough to set the candle of fate on fire, burning until all of its wax had been stripped from the wick, leaving only love's warmth to keep the two together.

Her mother still did not know yet about Minko's eyes, the way they changed the last night of Obon. At this point in her young life, Minko could barely remember her father. All she could envision of him were his hands, his strong hands with rough and weather-worn palms and elegantly long fingers. The hands which had once patted her affectionately on her head, messing up the thick curls her mother had so tirelessly worked to tame. Minko had asked about her father at the start of festivities that night, but her mom had looked so detached and so worn from fighting and running from demons in the past several months. Despite her young age, Minko was nearing the end of her priestess training, and demons were beginning to feel threatened by her presence and talent. If they were to finish her, it would have to be soon. The last thing her mother needed was an overly social ten-year-old firing off questions about her father which simply could not be answered. Needless to say, Minko's mother was of little help that night, and if anything, only made Minko feel worse. She whimpered by the stream, rubbing her cheek which was still red and she could still see the fingerprints from where her mother's hand had struck.

Minko knew she had been out of line. She had accused her mother of hating Minko, saying that she wandered away from festivities at Obon just to avoid celebrating the other special occasion—Minko's birthday. Minko felt awful for her harsh words, and as the salty tears welled out of her eyes, the child wondered if her mother was weeping too. How lonely Minko felt on these nights. As she got older, Minko began to buy lantern's for the last night to bring with her at her place by the river. She would pray to her father, though she knew (or hoped at least) he had not died. She would also pray to the gods for her mother's happiness. On that particular night, Minko trembled as she held the lantern up to her lips, closing her eyes and adding an additional prayer.

"Please give me a sign that I'm important," she whimpered, "and if I'm not, please take me away so I am not a burden on Mother anymore…"

She took a shaky breath before she continued her usual prayers, but he cut her off.

"Why are you crying?"

The voice was low and gruff, but it had a velvety elegance to it that surprised and entranced Minko. The young priestess nearly jumped out of her skin and spun around, her increasingly pale eyes meeting his golden ones. Her eyes widened when she saw him. His long silver mane was braided neatly back, his mokomoko, though still a little big for his growing form, rested elegantly on his shoulder before trailing behind him like a noble tail, his young eyes naïve yet proud, Minko held her breath as she gazed at him. A Dog Demon.

He didn't look more than a few years older than her, thirteen or fourteen at the most, but Minko knew that demons aged slower than humans. In truth, he had to have been around a century old. She tensed up, expecting an attack—after all, she'd been chased by demons the entire way back to Minko's village of birth, what was new?—but the demon only furrowed his eyebrows in confusion over the girl's hesitance to answer.

"Miss?" he asked again, he then lifted a finger and pointed at the lantern, "have you lost someone?"

Minko jumped and looked down before she gave the demon a confused look, "I haven't lost anyone."

"Then why do you look so lonely?"

Minko gave a gruff noise of agitation before spinning back around on her knees as she placed the lantern in the stream, "I'm not lonely," she snapped, "and my life is none of your business."

At that, Minko heard a soft sigh, "you're right. Forgive me, I was just concerned when I smelled the salt from tears. I thought someone had been hurt…though your cheek is a little red…"

"That's none of your business!" Minko snapped back, the tears falling all over again. The little girl squinted her eyes shut as she heaved, forcing her tears back. Mikos were not supposed to show emotion, especially not to demons.

But the young youkai merely raised an eyebrow as he daringly stepped forward and took a seat next to the girl, his golden eyes staring out at the sea of lights drifting lazily down the river, "I know it's not, forgive me, but…"

As the demon trailed off, Minko couldn't help but notice the hint of sadness in his voice. Slowly, Minko lifted her head, careful to conceal the soft glow beginning to rise from her irises as she asked, "but what?"

The boy sighed heavily and said, "Well…you could say that…that I'm lonely too…I was just wondering if you needed company as well."

At that, Minko wasn't sure whether to be surprised by the demon's humanly simple answer or feel like a complete jerk for snubbing him as she did. "Oh," was all that she managed.

"So who was that lantern for?" the boy asked, redirecting the subject.

Minko sighed heavily and answered, "no one really. Well, no one dead at least. My father…he's not around, but he's not dead."

"It feels like it though, doesn't it," the boy muttered in response, "no wonder you feel so lonely. You're just like me."

Minko shot the boy a glare, grimacing in confusion, "huh?"

"My parents are separated," the boy admitted, his proud demeanor suddenly vanishing, "they were supposed to be mates for life…but, I guess my father had different ideals. And my mother, well…she's always been a little cold."

"Oh," Minko breathed, "I am so sorry."

The boy shook his head, "don't be. Their mating was only for political strength. Even I saw it coming, and I'm only a hundred and ten."

"Well, it kind of sucks to be lonely on Obon," Minko admitted, ignoring the fact that being 'only a century' shouldn't be considered young, "what do you say we be lonely together?"

The boy arched an eyebrow, "I don't get it."

"Well, if we're lonely together, then we really aren't lonely," Minko smiled shyly as she explained. Then her face crunched as she sighed, "that didn't really make sense, did it…"

The demon shook his head, "not in the slightest."

Sighing heavily Minko extended her hand and introduced herself, "I'm Minko."

The young demon stared down at Minko's hand and hesitantly noted, "you're a priestess…"

"Yeah," Minko sighed, "but I won't hurt you. Not unless you hurt me. You are the one who came to me, aren't you?"

Shifting uneasily, the boy took Minko's hand in his and nodded in agreement before saying, "My name is Sesshomaru."


	2. A Boy Named Sesshomaru

Hello again! So, I'm going to apologize if Sesshomaru seems a little OOC these next few chapters. Please keep in mind that he is a LOT younger right now (we will be getting into the Inuyasha plotline soon enough, but I have to get this story going first!)

Also, just for clarification, Minko was ten years old in the first chapter but she is about thirteen/fourteen in these next couple of chapters. Sesshomaru, as he ages slower will stay around fourteen/fifteen/sixteenish, but also since his aging scale is completely different than ours, his "human age" is also a lot harder to guess, and that will become a major hint as we move into future chapters.

Well, anyway,

ENJOI

* * *

For three years, they only ever met at Obon Festival, at the same clearing just before the start of Toro Nagashi. It was impossible to find the mysterious girl at any other time. Of course, as much as her gentleness and glowing eyes intrigued the young Sesshomaru, he had a feeling that running into the priestess at any other point in time would be a bad idea. Especially with his father around. InuTaisho was one of the most feared Youkai in all the land and he ruled over the West. He could easily snap Minko's neck without even trying, no matter how great the girl's aura was.

But that's not what had Sesshomaru worried. Oh no, not in the slightest. What worried Sesshomaru was that InuTaisho would _not_ feel a need to kill Minko. Not with that blasted infatuation for human girls, the mighty demon even had a human girlfriend (Sesshomaru was still repulsed with his father for it. The young youkai had thought Princess Izayoi was just a rebound after Sesshomaru's mother left, but the couple had been going steady for almost a year now, even despite Izayoi's upcoming courtship with a nobleman. It was absolutely repulsive, InuTaisho sleeping around with the human. It was his actions, not Mother's, which ultimately severed the alliance between the North and the West. As long as InuTaisho didn't make things even worse and conceive a half-breed child with the woman, Sesshomaru would at least _tolerate_ Izayoi). InuTaisho would be ecstatic to meet Minko. What would make the great dog general even more excited was that Sesshomaru actually _got along_ with a human.

At the very least, InuTaisho would ask—no, beg—Minko to take his son as her mate.

Sesshomaru still shuddered at the thought. He had no interest in taking a mate as it was. Mates were only for the soul purpose of producing heirs and creating alliances. As the only son of InuTaisho, Sesshomaru knew he would have to take a woman to be the mother of his child, but he would never make her his mate. He saw first-hand just how well arranged mateships went and he wanted no part in it.

And he wasn't particularly fond of humans either. Sure, he had no qualms with them (except for Izayoi, but even then the situation wasn't her fault), but they were so arrogant, yet completely unable to defend themselves. The last time Sesshomaru dared to enter a human village, he was with his father to seek an alliance with the feudal lord (again, as a result of what should have been no more than a rebound) and even though they knew Sesshomaru was coming, the villagers _still_ threw swear words that the two youkai had never even heard of and were continually threatened with farming tools. Farming tools! Of all things! Yeah, like that hoe that couldn't even break into the soil properly was going to do anything to Sesshomaru and InuTaisho!

There was definitely something different about Minko. She may have been human, but she was much more…benevolent than any other member of her race. Sesshomaru wasn't quite sure if benevolent was the right word, but he had no other way of describing her. And the way her eyes glowed…there was no way Minko could be nothing more than a simple priestess-in-training, but she definitely smelled human. Probably more human than any other one Sesshomaru had met, if that was even possible.

Regardless of Sesshomaru's opinion of Minko, Izayoi, or humans, his father would never meet the girl. Ever. Nor could he know of her. Sesshomaru had to take great care in their meetings to stay far enough away from Minko so he would not leave with her scent on his clothes. The third time he encountered her at Obon, however, something had drastically changed.

He smelled the saltiness of her tears upon his approach, much like the night they first met. But these weren't tears of frustration or loneliness. These were tears of mourning, and inexplicable pain.

"Minko?" Sesshomaru asked as he pushed his way through the brush. He found the thirteen-year-old standing at the river bank, her back to him and her lantern at her feet. She looked up to the moon as always and her blue haori, which looked more like a kimono as it dropped to her mid-thigh, covering the majority of the black pants that weren't tucked into her boots, was almost grayed with the dirt and blood that resulted from long battle.

"Forgive me, Sesshomaru," Minko whimpered, "My mom had to kill today. She had to kill a lot."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow, knowing what she meant. She didn't like being a priestess. Though she never admitted it, he could tell that much. And she always apologized whenever the mention of slaying demons arose. She didn't like taking the lives of the same species as Sesshomaru, even though Sesshomaru himself had killed a couple of his own kind in his life. Though Minko only ever spoke of her mother killing, and as he glanced over at her blade-tipped spear which rested on a nearby tree trunk. He noted the droplets of crimson on the crescent blade before he noted, "and you didn't?"

Minko shook her head, "I-I'm not strong enough to take a life…no matter how vile a demon may be. I was able to get a few away from my mother but she…"

At that, Sesshomaru's heart sunk, dreading what words might come from her mouth next. That was why he smelled another human's blood on the girl. "Minko…"

"If I had just been strong enough," Minko choked, bowing her head. She held something in her hand and pulled it to her chest as her shoulders trembled, "If I had just had the nerve to slay those bastards, then she wouldn't have…"

Without knowing what to do, the young boy took a step towards Minko and attempted to place a consoling hand on her shoulder, yet the priestess turned away. Narrowing his eyes, Sesshomaru noticed a soft pink light peering out of Minko's cupped hands. So, he decided to change the subject, "what's that?"

Apparently, it was related to her mother, because just as he asked the question, the girl broke out into hysterical sobs and fell to her knees, holding the light closer to her lips.

Well, that didn't really work.

"Minko, I—I'm really sorry," Sesshomaru said awkwardly. He hesitantly patted the girl's back with stiff and uncertain movements, "I know you don't always like help but…if there's anything I can do for you—"

"I'm sorry!" was all Minko could muster as she threw her arms around Sesshomaru's neck and sobbed, burying her head into his chest. It had to have been at least an hour before Minko's sobs calmed down to a hushed whimper. All the daiyoukai could really do was hold the crying girl, occasionally patting her back or her head, running his fingers through her silky locks. He had never been around someone crying _this _hysterically before, much less a human, and he had no idea how to comfort her.

When Minko finally did calm down, however, she pulled out of her embrace and wiped her eyes, sniffling occasionally. Though she grasped tightly onto Sesshomaru's hand, refusing to let go.

"I'm sorry," she finally said, her voice shaking, "I just…I don't want to be alone. I'm not ready to take care of myself and…I've always been a little lonely—it comes with being a priestess—but I've never felt this alone before…"

"I know," was all Sesshomaru could say. He glanced down at his haori, the white shirt with floral print had tear stains smeared on his front. That would take some washing out. The poor girl…

"It's weird though," Minko muttered so low a human wouldn't be able to hear, but her light voice rang loud and clear in Sesshomaru's ears as she admitted, "when I'm with you, I'm not as lonely…"

Sesshomaru tightened his jaw and he could feel a muscle jump within his cheek. Averting the subject, Sesshomaru lifted his head and discovered the small lights floating lazily down the river. "The lanterns," was all he said.

Minko jumped up with a blank expression and hurried to send her own lantern off. She closed her eyes and placed the lantern to her lips to pray, just as she always did, but this time Sesshomaru couldn't help but notice the tears hanging from Minko's eyes.

"Mom?" Minko called out as she released the lantern, "Forgive me. I'll try to become a strong priestess. Just as you wanted me to."

Few words were exchanged that night, and eventually Sesshomaru took his leave and returned to the imperial palace InuTaisho had called the center of his empire. The entire time, Sesshomaru was unable to get his mind off of Minko. What had happened to her mother? He figured the woman probably died in battle, but just what happened? And from the way Minko spoke during their few encounters, it sounded like the two were always on the run, why would demons try so hard to take specifically those two down? Surely there were other more troublesome priestesses who wouldn't hesitate to kill a demon, unlike Minko. And that jewel in Minko's hand. It was clearly not normal. Well, nothing about Minko was normal, but Sesshomaru had a strange feeling it had to do with her mother's death.

When he returned home, however, Sesshomaru quickly realized that it wasn't Minko's mother he should've been worried about, but instead, his own father.

The young demon hadn't even made it past the front gates when he saw the alarm in his father's eyes as the great general bounded towards his son.

"Sesshomaru!" InuTaisho called out, "are you alright?"

Sesshomaru blinked, "yes, Father."

"Oh, no, you can't be alright, I smell a priestess's blood all over you! What happened?" InuTaisho skidded to a halt and looked his son over, his golden eyes wide in shock, "you are not injured."

"No, of course I'm not injured," Sesshomaru snapped as he moved swiftly past his father. InuTaisho grasped Sesshomaru by the wrists to halt him, but in turn the demon turned around and said, "I was simply out for a walk. Nothing more."

"Not only do I smell a priestess's blood on you, but I smell the holy powers of a second priestess, though by the looks of it, she was not harmed," InuTaisho noted, horribly confused by the new scents on his son's clothing.

"No, it was only her mother that was—" Sesshomaru caught his tongue before he could say more, but it was already too late.

"_What_?" InuTaisho asked, almost sounding outraged. Before any more conversation could be exchanged, InuTaisho swiftly took his son to his office and slammed the doors shut and ordering any and all servants who walked by away. Sitting down at his desk and taking a deep breath, InuTaisho steadied himself as he asked, "Sesshomaru, did you have a run-in with a priestess? Did you kill her? Who was she? What did she look like?"

Clenching his jaw tightly, Sesshomaru folded his arms into the sleeves of his shirt and stared his father down. There was no way he could say anything to his father. InuTaisho, under no circumstances, could _not_ find out about Minko.

"I didn't fight with any priestess," Sesshomaru finally answered, "I told you that I was only out for a walk."

"And yet the smell on your clothes betrays you," InuTaisho pointed out, "what were you doing?"

"Minko's just a friend!" Sesshomaru exclaimed without thinking, "and her mother was killed by demons yesterday and—" Sesshomaru bit his lip as he let it slip, "Damn."

At that, InuTaisho's eyes widened in part shock, part relief as he sat back in his chair and let out a hearty laugh. "Sesshomaru! You've befriended a priestess? That's all? My, I thought you were one of the demons involved in Lady Midoriko's death last night, you scared me there!"

"Midoriko?" Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. He had heard that name before. Midoriko was one of the most feared priestesses in the West. No demon would ever think twice about crossing paths with her. Recently there had been an uproar, however, in the last decade as Midoriko had birthed a half-breed child of the same name with miko powers that were quite possibly even greater than the priestess herself. Fearing for their lives, some of the gutsier youkai had been challenging Midoriko and her daughter in hopes of exterminating at least one of them while they were still vulnerable.

"So, her name is Minko?" InuTaisho grinned wildly as he sat forward in his chair, completely oblivious to his son's question, "What's she look like? Is she pretty?"

Sesshomaru groaned, "Father…Midoriko…?"

InuTaisho wasn't paying a lick of attention to his son at this point: "Have you met her parents yet?"

"No, her mother just died—"

"Will I get to meet her?"

"I'm not sure I want you to…"

"Has she completed her training? How old is she?"

"Father, Midoriko, what happened?"

"Are you two courting yet?"

"No! Father, she's just a friend—"

"Am I seeing grandpups in the future?"

At that, Sesshomaru finally lost his temper as he roared, "I am _not_ having hanyou children, Father!"

InuTaisho sobered up and he set his jaw, gazing firmly at his son. Sighing heavily, Sesshomaru's father awaited expectantly and allowed his son to finally speak. Sesshomaru took a deep breath and asked, "What did you say happened to Midoriko?"

"She was killed yesterday by a swarm of demons," InuTaisho answered in a cool voice, "or rather, she took her own life to take the demons down with her. Normally, I wouldn't take concern over the death of a priestess as it is just as common as any other youkai or human losing their life, but…"

"But this is Midoriko, and anything involving her is bound to have some side effects," Sesshomaru noted, "And Midoriko and her daughter were both born in the human capital of their Western countryside. We're already in a strained relationship with the feudal lord, Father."

InuTaisho tried to ignore the fact that the last statement was a jab towards him. Izayoi was, after all, the feudal lord's daughter. "Though that is not necessarily the concern, yes, you're right. We can't give the capital any more trouble. My, Sesshomaru, barely a teenager and you are so well-versed in the West's politics. As spiteful as you may be to your old and weary father, I am impressed."

"Weary is hardly an adjective that can describe you, Father," Sesshomaru scoffed. More like, 'energetic', 'precocious', and 'womanizer' suited the man more. Shaking his head of the thoughts, Sesshomaru continued, "but why is Izayoi's father not the reason you are concerned over Midoriko's death?"

"It is what resulted from her death that worries me," InuTaisho answered, lowering his eyes, "apparently her attackers drove Midoriko and her child into a corner. I don't know all that happened, but I can say that if there is one thing Midoriko valued more than peace in this world, it would be her child. Her protective will must have channeled into her spiritual energy because they are saying that in the moment of her death, her soul crystalized into a jewel and dragged the souls of her attackers into it. I don't know what will become of that jewel, but it's not sounding good."

"And you said the daughter's name was also Midoriko?" Sesshomaru asked. Suddenly, he too was feeling uneasy about the priestess's death. The daiyoukai's mind couldn't help but flicker to the gem Minko held onto so tightly the night before.

Before either youkai could say any more, the flea Myoga and another servant barged into the office in a panic.

"My Lord!" Myoga cried out, "There is a woman dressed in white requesting your appearance immediately! She looks like a dog demon but…"

"But what, Myoga?" InuTaisho rose to his feet, concerned about the alarm in the flea's voice.

"She calls herself the Lady Amaterasu!"

* * *

Minko wandered the terrain alone, clenching her spear tightly in hand. She barely returned home after the final night of Obon when the feudal lord gave her orders to scout out the border between the capital and the demon lord InuTaisho's empire. It was ridiculous. Minko was nowhere near the priestess her mother had been and yet just about all of the higher ups were calling Minko 'Midoriko' and expecting her to be able to do just as much as her mother once had. But Sesshomaru hadn't even noticed that she was only part human yet! Clearly, Minko wasn't nearly as powerful as everyone had expected her to be.

"Oh, why do I bother?" Minko sulked, gripping her spear tightly. She wore the jewel that emerged from her mother's chest around her neck. She had no idea what that jewel was, but Minko had a feeling it wasn't good news in the slightest. She didn't bother telling the feudal lord about the jewel, but by the horrible knot in her stomach, Minko had a feeling that just about every demon in the West knew about it.

It was soft, and it was only a laugh, but it was enough to make Minko jump out of her skin. The sound pierced the air and traveled to the child's ears, forcing her to ready herself for battle. As she spun around, however, the owner of the laughter was nowhere to be found.

"H-hello?" Minko stuttered, but no answer came to her. Closing her eyes, Minko felt around. There were a _lot_ of demons nearby, but as far as she could tell, no one caught onto her scent. Yet. But the other presence she felt, it wasn't like anything she had ever known. Taking a wild guess and hoping she was right, she asked, "Sesshomaru?"

"Midoriko," came the answer. It was a woman's voice, soft yet strong. Minko let out a shriek and dropped her spear. Realizing her flub, she unsheathed her sword and pumped a massive amount of spiritual energy into the blade.

"Who are you?" Minko growled fiercely as she lowered her stance. Though she was yet again baffled at the sight of the white-haired woman sitting in the grass only a few feet away from her. The woman wore a white silk kimono decorated in a Sakura Blossom pattern. Her pure white locks sparkled with sheen and were tied back in a loose ponytail. Her golden eyes sparkled like the sun and as she smiled the red marks on her cheek bones rose with the grin.

"Do not be afraid, dear Midoriko, I will not harm you," the woman said. She held a basket in her lap as she searched the ground for different grasses. Was she collecting herbs?

Minko in response sheathed her sword and picked up her spear, but she did not approach the woman. There was something strange about her. Her aura held an incredible power, more so than any demon. And yet, she was more pure than a priestess. "Who are you?" the young priestess found the courage to ask, "Are you a demon?"

"A demon?" The woman's eyes brightened as her lips tasted the word. She paused for a moment before breaking out into laughter, "Oh no, dear child, I am no demon! Well…I take that back, actually. I'm like a demon, but…different."

"How so?" Minko asked, narrowing her eyes. She took a hesitant step towards the woman. Minko couldn't sense any threat in this woman. At least not yet.

"Well, in the same way your father is like a demon," the woman answered, lowering her eyes. The corners of her mouth turned down slightly at the mention of the father, but Minko took no notice of her mannerisms. Instead, the child let out a yelp and ran up to the woman, forgetting all barriers she previously kept up.

"You know my father? Who is he?" Minko asked, grasping the woman's shoulders. The woman stared back at Minko in surprise, but then looked down, a sad smile on her face before she gently took Minko's hands in hers.

"Well, I know of your father, but I have not spoken to him in several years," she answered in a low voice, "Forgive me, Midoriko, but I am not at liberty to speak of your father. And for what it's worth, I don't think he is someone you should worry your pretty little head over."

"O-oh," Minko's heart fell, but she redirected the subject, "why do you keep calling me by my mother's name?"

Minko began to wonder if she was asking too many questions, and yet with all the patience in the world, the woman merely smiled and fed the child's curiosity. "Well, that is your name as well, isn't it? You bear the weight of your mother's name as well as your own powers. It's a suitable name."

"But I don't like it," Minko admitted, she then remembered her manners and corrected, "what I mean is, I prefer not to go by my official name. It gets confusing. Even though there is only one Midoriko now, I would still prefer others to not mistake me for my mother. I don't want her name to be tainted by my mistakes."

The woman lifted an eyebrow and pursed her lips as she asked, "Then what would you like to go by?"

Minko opened her mouth to speak just as two silver-haired daiyoukai stumbled out of the trees, bounding clumsily with great speed. Upon seeing the young priestess, the younger youkai's jaw dropped and his voice cracked as he called out in surprise, "Minko!"

The woman and the elder youkai both allowed their jaws to drop, the woman with pleasant surprise and the youkai in a complete and dumbfounded stupor. "Minko?" the youkai spat out, his eyes wide in shock, "_That's_ Minko? Sesshomaru!"

Before Sesshomaru could protest to the elder youkai, the woman clapped her hands together and squealed as she giggled, "Minko! Oh, that's an adorable name, Midoriko! And it suits you so well!"

Upon hearing her voice, both youkai jumped and straightened themselves up, the elder bowing to Minko and the woman, "forgive me, my Lady, for the clumsy entrance. I did not expect you were to depart from my castle so soon."

"It is fair, InuTaisho," the woman responded, "I left without warning anyway. I sensed Midoriko—er, Minko—nearby and I wanted to find her as soon as possible. It's hard being a priestess at such a young age. And with her mother's soul and her bloodline at that."

Minko could only barely pay attention to any of the conversation. Her eyes were locked on the youkai boy in front of her. Even prepared for battle, he wore no armor, only his mokomoko and the same floral haori that she always saw him in. Well…the three times she had seen him at least. She took a step towards her friend, "Sesshomaru? What are you doing here?"

Unlike their previous encounters, Sesshomaru took an uneasy step back, "you didn't tell me you were Midoriko."

The response halted the other three present. The woman smiled at Sesshomaru and answered, "Yet she isn't, is she? She is, as you called her, Minko. Sesshomaru, InuTaisho, as I told you earlier, this is my niece, Minko. She's been through many hardships lately, and I fear that she will face countless more. Even after a priestess completes her training, there is still much she has to accomplish before she can go out in the world on her own, and I can only stay with her long enough for that time to come. Will you two look after her when I am gone?"

InuTaisho closed his eyes and nodded, "Of course, my Lady. Now if you two will come with us, I will have my servants prepare a feast in your honor tonight."

"That is very kind of you, General, you have my gratitude," the woman said. She gently took Minko by the hand and the two followed the demonsi, moving swiftly towards the domain of the daiyoukai. The entire time, Minko stared up at the woman with wide eyes. Her niece? So then this woman was…

"Aunt?" was all Minko could say.

The woman turned back to Minko and smiled, "yes, Minko. I am your Aunt."

"And yet you haven't told me your name," Minko narrowed her eyes, "just who are you?"

"Forgive me, but that is another topic I am not at liberty to say," the woman answered, "but in time, you will come to understand my purpose in your life and just what my will is. For now, you can call me Auntie. Or Amy. Or Auntie Amy, whichever your prefer."

"Okay…" Minko narrowed her eyes, still uncertain of Auntie. But she shrugged the thought off and made an attempt to talk to Sesshomaru, "Well," she said, her voice shaking, "it's certainly nice to see you in the broad daylight, eh, Sesshomaru?"

Sesshoamru kept his eyes forward, walking at his father's side, and said nothing.

Minko pursed her lips and glared at the demon, "Sesshomaru?"

"This Sesshomaru does not speak to humans, and he certainly does not associate with _half-breeds,_" was his only response.

And that just about did her in. "Oh, come on!" Minko stamped her foot on the ground, her face flushing, "What, are you only capable of being friendly during Obon or something?"

"Are you only capable of remembering that you are the half-breed daughter or Lady Midoriko when it isn't Obon?" Sesshomaru spat back.

"I—" Minko stuttered, trying to find a witty comeback, "That's not really something I pay attention to, you know! I could care less what I am!"

"Be silent, priestess, you—"

"Sesshomaru!" InuTaisho broke through the argument, scolding his son. By this point, the four had stopped. The Dog General crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at his son before continuing, "That is not the way to treat a lady! Much less our guest! My gods, Sesshomaru, that is not how I raised you!"

Groaning, Sesshomaru rolled his eyes and continued forward, ignoring his father. InuTaisho rubbed his temples with clawed hands and muttered, "teenagers…" before following his son. Auntie sighed and followed the two youkai, leaving Minko with her feet frozen in place, staring at Sesshomaru's back. She knew that she'd only really ever spoken with the demon three times, but…that outburst was so unlike him! What was his problem?

"Minko?" Auntie broke through the child's thoughts, "are you coming?"

"Oh! Sorry!" Minko jumped, then ran to catch up with the others.

They made it to the castle and Minko was ushered into a huge guest room where servants dunked her filthy self into a bath, combed her hair, and dressed her in a long pink kimono with gold accents. It was one of the most beautiful kimonos Minko had ever worn (and one of the only kimonos at that) and it looked more like something fitting for the Princess Izayoi to wear. One thing was certain, it seemed more the Lady's size. Minko was petite as it was, but it didn't help that she was still a thirteen-year-old waiting to hit a growth spurt and that she had lost a few pounds from near starvation since the demon raid which ultimately led to her mother's demise began two weeks before. She tripped and stumbled on the long skirt, trying everything in her power to at least walk into the dining hall without embarrassing herself. Though when she saw Sesshomaru sitting in a regal and lordly looking blue kimono of his own, his silver hair braided neatly back, Minko's face flushed and she tripped over the hem of her skirt, falling flat on her face.

"Dammit!" Minko cursed under her breath, fighting back frustrated tears.

"Perhaps we should fit you for a kimono more closer to your size?" InuTaisho offered, "forgive me, the women we do have here on occasion are a bit taller than you are."

"Th-That's okay," Minko blushed, quickly taking a seat across from Sesshomaru. She opened her mouth to say something to the demon she thought was her friend, but he merely averted his gaze and stared out the window, only half-paying attention to the food he placed in his mouth. Minko sighed heavily, dreading the awkward silence that was bound to follow as a result of the suddenly mute youkai.

To her absolute shock, however, lunch was not quiet in the slightest. If anything, her ears were about to bleed out from all the words and stories they had to filter through to comprehend what was happening. While Sesshomaru was about as lively as a brick, Lord InuTaisho wouldn't shut up! He asked Minko about herself and Minko barely had enough time to sputter out her answers before the Lord moved onto an entirely new subject, telling stories and bad jokes, typically laughing at his wits before he could even deliver the punch-line. Occasionally Auntie would add in her two-sense worth and tell her own jokes and the two could converse for a while, but InuTaisho definitely let the table conversation. And at dinner, he was even rowdier. By the end of the day, Minko dragged herself up to her room, not sure what exhausted her more: pretending to have the etiquette she clearly was not trained to have or InuTaisho's loud, boisterous voice and laughter.

"At least he's friendly," Minko muttered to herself as she made it to her room. That was another thing that surprised her: she never in a million years expected to cross paths with the Lord of the West and live to tell the tale. Much less be invited to his own house and treated like an old friend! She didn't bother to disrobe and put on a nightgown before she plopped down on the bed. Sighing, Minko mumbled out loud, "Too bad Sesshomaru isn't…"

That boy hadn't said more than two words to Minko since the encounter that morning! Sure, he was typically the quiet type during their encounters at Obon, but this was just ridiculous! Did she do something wrong? Minko let out an exhausted sigh and decided to dismiss the thought and figured (with a slightly broken heart) that Sesshomaru had always been cold and his kindness was only a result of him taking pity on her.

But of course, that boy decided to throw her for an even bigger loop later that night.

Minko had finally scavenged the energy to take off her kimono and change into a white cotton one for bed. She grimaced when she saw the wrinkles she created in the silk dress, and tried to hang it up nicely so it wouldn't get any worse. "Okay, no more silk for me," Minko muttered to herself. She then tried to figure out how to get underneath the covers of the large mattress (the most she had ever slept on was a thin cot with an over-sized haori as a make-shift blanket. Priestesses may have been highly respected, but there was no way in hell they were ever actually paid for all their trouble. Minko had grown up broke and the castle was almost enough to send the girl into culture shock). She had given up and settled for resting her head on the pillow, allowing her eyes to close when a hand reached out and covered her mouth.

She let out a shriek, which was suppressed by the hand, and sat up, trying to land a punch on her attacker. Another hand simply reached out and rested on her shoulder in an attempt to calm Minko. And then a voice whispered, "Calm down! I'm only here to talk."

Minko blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Through the moonlight, she could barely make out the silver and white form of Sesshomaru. The priestess allowed her jaw to drop and she glared at the youkai, "Sesshomaru! What're you—"

"Shhh!" Sesshomaru covered Minko's mouth once more, "don't let anybody hear you. Get dressed and follow me." Sesshomaru handed Minko her haori and pants which now almost sparkled with cleanliness, even in the darkness. Before Minko could protest, Sesshomaru turned around and crossed his arms, allowing the girl enough privacy to dress. She did so and barely had time to pull her boots and wrist-guards on when the young demon grasped hold of her hand and brought her to the balcony outside her room. In one swift motion, Sesshomaru scooped Minko into his arms and leapt out the window, landing in the courtyard below. He led her to a small gazebo which was covered in ivy. He even had to push some strands of the plant away to step inside, and ivy was so thick, no moonlight could pierce through, leaving Sesshomaru to lighting a lantern in the center of the makeshift room.

"Okay, what is this all about?" Minko glared at Sesshomaru, crossing her arms.

Sesshoamru sighed heavily and answered, "forgive me for my silence today, but I do not feel I can speak freely in my father's presence."

"Really?" Minko raised an eyebrow, "Well your dad seems to speak pretty freely if you ask me, why not?"

"Don't concern yourself over that matter," Sesshomaru spat back. Minko gulped. Okay, that was a touchy subject. The young demon then regained his composure and walked over to the priestess, narrowing his eyes, "they aren't glowing."

Minko's nose crinkled slightly in confusion, "I beg your pardon?"

"Your eyes," Sesshomaru said, "you've always smelled human, but your eyes glowed the last few times I've seen you. And not only are they not glowing now, but they're an entirely different color."

Sighing heavily, Minko tried to explain, "Well, duh, they aren't glowing. It's not Obon." Minko looked back up to Sesshomaru to find that he had lifted an eyebrow in confusion, so the girl tried to further explain, "they only do that on the last night of Obon Festival. I'm not quite sure why, it just happens."

"And as far as I can tell, that has been the only inhuman thing about you," Sesshomaru noted, "so the fool that I am, I presumed you were nothing more than a training priestess. I had no idea you were actually Midoriko."

"That's because I'm not Midoriko!" Minko shouted, stamping her foot. Sesshomaru swiftly covered her mouth to shoosh her again, hoping no one had heard her outburst. Groaning, Minko glared at Sesshomaru and when he finally released her, she snapped at him in a harsh whisper, "I don't care if that's my name or not, I am not Midoriko. I'm not my mother and I'm not what everyone expects me to be! I don't want to be a priestess, I don't want to be a half-breed, I just want to be a normal girl with normal problems! I want to have a boyfriend, I want to have friends, and I want to be _me_!"

At that, Sesshomau furrowed his brow, "then what's stopping you?"

Minko scoffed and let out what sounded almost like a growl, "Everything! Don't you get it?"

"No? Should I?" Sesshomaru then asked. He then paused for a moment before saying, "Does this have to do with what you were talking about the other night? About picking up where your mother left off when she died?"

Minko paused for a moment and drew in a sharp breath, her mind drifting back to Toro Nagashi. She had been crying on and off for the majority of the night, and at one point broke out into hysterics unable to deal with the pressure of being a better priestess than her mother had been. And her mother was so incredible that her soul crystalized in order to destroy the demons and protect Minko. Minko turned away from Sesshomaru, afraid to show any more tears.

"A priestess commits herself to a set fate when she begins her training," Minko answered, "that fate is unchanging, no matter who you were before you became a priestess. You lose your identity and are bound to become greater than your predecessor or bring shame to their very name without ever finding redemption. On either path however, I've doomed myself to die in battle." Minko trailed off and looked down, fighting back tears. She had been wearing the jewel cast off from her mother around her neck and she pulled out the small pink crystal and held it delicately in her palm, "I can't imagine what grief my mother went through before her death, or if she's still enduring it now. All I do know, however, is if I do hope to surpass her, and not shame her, I am condemning myself to a fate even worse than this crystal."

"And that scares you?" Sesshomaru asked curiously. Minko turned around to face him, her lip quivering.

"No," she finally said, "dying doesn't scare me, but this predestined path of mine absolutely terrifies me. I feel so confined in my own skin, like I can't breathe. I hate it."

At that, Sesshomaru sighed and sat down on a bench. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, his eyes suddenly glazed over as he drifted into thought. "That," he began, "is something I can understand completely."

"What?" Minko asked.

"Miko and Daiyoukai, it seems we are all bound to the same dreadful fate, no matter how different we claim to be. The fate of surpassing our predecessors or facing complete humiliation. The line of duties that await us from picking a mate—or not—to fulfilling your teacher's role and then some. It's disgusting."

"Y-yeah," Minko sighed, hesitantly sitting down next to Sesshomaru, "what is your fate then?"

"To inherit the Tessaiga and Tenseiga and become Lord of the West," Sesshomaru answered curtly, as if he had memorized it in his lessons, "to find a suitable mate to produce an exceptional heir. To surpass my father in every way possible and to expand the Western Empire far beyond the borders my father has established in his lifetime." Sesshomaru paused for a moment before he slunk forward and in a defeated tone, added, "And so far my birthright seems to be the only possible goal for me to accomplish."

"That…really sucks," Minko spat out without thinking of her word choice. Upon receiving the pointed glare from Sesshomaru, the young priestess let out a yelp and covered her mouth, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that—"

"No, it really does suck," Sesshomaru sighed. He scooted forward so he could lie down on the bench, leaving his legs to hang off of it, and resting his hands on his stomach. Suddenly, Sesshomaru looked more like a teenager concerned about his future than the heir to the West that he had always portrayed himself as in front of Minko before. Sighing, Minko imitated Sesshomaru's movements and looked up to the ceiling of the gazebo as she leaned back. How different, yet how similar their worlds were to each other.

"Well," Minko began, trying to fill the void of silence that had elapsed between the two, "do you think maybe we could help each other accomplish the impossible?"

"I beg your pardon?" Sesshomaru asked, turning his head towards the priestess.

Minko sighed and said, "I can't do this alone, Sesshomaru, and you're really the only true friend I have in this world. I know it's selfish of me, but I need your help if I'm going to become a strong priestess. And judging by the confidence in your tone, it seems like you could use some help filling your father's shoes as well and I'd be more than happy to return the favor I'm asking of you."

"Hn," Sesshomaru grunted. He was silent for a long moment before he finally said, "A priestess and a dog demon. Well, it could be worse."

"How so?" Minko raised an eyebrow and Sesshomaru gave Minko a teasing grin for the first, and possibly last time in his life.

"I could be dating the daughter of the humans' Feudal Lord," Sesshomaru allowed himself to chuckle, pleased with his terrible joke.

Minko wasn't nearly as amused, "I don't get it."

Sesshomaru shot Minko a confused glance, "but you live in the capital, don't you? Surely you know about Izayoi."

"Lady Izayoi? But she's courting a—" Minko paused, thinking about what Sesshomaru had said.

The youkai grimaced as he said, "my father's new girlfriend."

It took a moment for the fact to register in the priestess's brain, but Minko's face contorted into such disgust as she squealed, "Ewwww!" that Sesshomaru broke out into a light laughter that was foreign to him. Upon seeing his reaction, Minko recovered from her disgust and broke out into a bright laughter herself as she held her sides. They only laughed harder when they looked at each other and Minko accidentally rolled off the bench and fell onto the ground, which caused Sesshomaru to sit up and bend forward as tears streamed down his face. By the time the two had stopped laughing, they were both sitting on the floor.

"Okay, okay, I will help you and accept your aid," Sesshomaru said as he wiped a tear from his eye, he hadn't felt such—what was this feeling? Joy?—before in his life. Minko sat up and smiled at the demon.

"I'm glad I have a friend like you, Sesshomaru," Minko said, "though if you could just promise me one thing…"

"What's that?" Sesshomaru asked, confused by her suddenly serious mood.

Minko lowered her head before asking, "No matter what happens, promise me, _promise me_ that you won't ever call me Midoriko? Promise me that I won't be more than Minko to you?"

"Of course," Sesshomaru answered without thinking twice.

Minko smiled again and she subconsciously took the demon's hand. What was she doing? She took a deep breath and said, "I take that back, you aren't just my friend. I think you're my best friend."

At that, Sesshomaru flattened his lips into a smirk and he said, "Best friend? Minko, you're a priestess."

"And?" Minko shot Sesshomaru a glare.

"And you're saying that your best friend is a being that should be your sworn enemy," Sesshomaru pointed out.

Minko blushed and looked away, "I told you, I don't speak to a lot of people…"

"Obviously!" Sesshomaru chuckled, "but…I think you're my best friend as well…"

Minko shot Sesshomaru a teasing glance as she mocked, "but I'm a priestess, I should be you're sworn enemy."

At that, Sesshomaru slumped forward slightly, "Minko, we're pathetic…"

The priestess giggled in response, "but at least we have each other!"


	3. Times and Trials

Hello again! For those of you reading Consequences...sorry...I needed a break and felt bad for neglecting this story (not like it actually had a plot yet...XP) This is more of a set up chapter with a lot of time skips, so...hold on, I should be putting out another chapter later today that finally starts to get to the meat of the story! Onwards and Upwards!

P.S. Yes, there is a reason Amy kind of...leaves as quickly as she does. She comes back, I promise!

ENJOI

* * *

The six years Minko spent under the protection of the Western Lord and Heir were of the most confusing, yet carefree years in the priestess's life. That first week she spent at Lord InuTaisho's palace, Minko and Sesshomaru spent every day together, whether it was training with Auntie Amy in the dojo or sitting in the courtyard eating dango and watching the clouds (but only if InuTaisho was not present). Minko also heard more and more about Lady Izayoi's relationship and the more she heard, the more Minko grew slightly disgusted over the affair and the more she grew to like the princess. Part of her hoped she would have a chance to get to know Izayoi more as a person, she seemed like a fascinating and genuinely kind person (even though Sesshomaru still turned his nose up at the idea of his father seeing someone other than his mother).

Auntie Amy also became a major influence in Minko's life, despite their short time together. She was still confused about their supposed relationship, but when Minko inquired about it, Auntie brushed the topic off and possibly confused the girl even more.

"Our relationship is more of a spiritual one, my dear," she had explained. "Yes you are my niece, but not entirely by blood. We are both benevolent and holy beings with great spiritual energy. It's complicated to explain but you will understand in time."

At the end of the week, after she had gotten so used to the company of her favorite demons, it felt like the end of the world when Amy and InuTaisho both reminded Minko and Sesshomaru of their duties and the priestess realized she was overdue on her return to the feudal lord. It was then that Auntie also informed Minko that this would be the last time the priestess would see her for several years.

"But you can't leave!" she shrieked, unable to contain her fear of being alone once more.

"And I am not, " Amy reassured. "I have more power than you can see with eyes, child. I may not be visible, but I will always be beside you, no matter what happens."

Minko struggled to accept that fact and when she couldn't even bring herself to say goodbye to Sesshomaru without fighting tears, the priestess only felt as if she might as well be killed by demons right then and there. And meeting the feudal lord's fury whilst sitting alongside Lady Izayoi wasn't much better.

As Sesshomaru had guessed (and complained about), Lady Izayoi was "mysteriously" disappearing to "pick apples" and "explore outside the palace walls" at the same time Lord InuTaisho was leaving to "fulfill important youkai duties". As a result, Izayoi was placed under probation by her father and because he felt Minko wasn't ready for the responsibility of slaying demons like he thought she should have been, Izayoi's protector was none other than the priestess herself (because that somehow made sense in the wiry old man's mind).

Whether it was by sheer coincidence, fate, or the feudal lord's utter stupidity, he had just made it ten times easier for both women to meet with their favorite youkai.

Izayoi was despondent at first, trying her best to hide her inner turmoil. Minko attempted to strike up conversation on occasion, but the princess would only sigh heavily and apologize for her lack of enthusiasm.

"I truly am sorry, my priestess, I do not mean to offend you," she insisted one morning upon Minko's suggestion of taking a walk. "However, I feel regret that my father still treats me like a child when I am betrothed! I do not wish to-!" Izayoi paused suddenly, the reality of her betrothal striking her core as if it were a demon's poisonous claws digging into her heart.

Minko watched her princess with solemn eyes and it was then that she realized just how great Lady Izayoi's feelings for Lord InuTaisho were. At least, if Sesshomaru's assumption was correct after all.

"My lady," Minko said hesitantly. She took a deep breath and repeated, "Please come on a walk with me. I only wish to guide you outside the palace walls."

Izayoi almost broke down into tears but managed to maintain her composure when she said, "There is no point in my freedom if I cannot leave my prison without a _guide_."

"Then think of me as a good friend," Minko suggested. She was almost begging on her knees trying to get her princess to understand. "Besides, I think our destination is one you will want to see."

At that, the princess stiffened and narrowed her eyes. What were normally warm brown eyes full of kindness changed to a cold and suspicious gaze. The priestess wanted to shrink back into herself and hide away from the princess's judging eyes. Fighting to maintain courage, Minko held out her hand, and pleaded for Izayoi to follow.

And the look on both her and Lord InuTaisho's faces were worth it.

When she saw Sesshomaru's face, however, not so much.

"You _brought_ her here?" the demon hissed angrily once they finally had time away from prying eyes. Minko nodded her head blindly, not knowing what had angered her friend so much. Sesshomaru let out a loud growl and threw his hands in the air, the whites of his eyes filling with blood and turning red causing the priestess to jump back and almost cower in fear. His sudden display was the most…demon she had seen him. "Minko, what the hell were you even thinking? Do you have any idea what you have done?"

"I came to see you and brought my princess who was obviously suffering great heartache," she answered as honestly as she could. Minko didn't understand what was so wrong with that.

"If this gets out, everything will be ruined!" Sesshomaru roared. "If they even show any sign affection, my gods, if they _breed_!"

At that, Minko's jaw dropped. The thought hadn't even occurred to her. "Sesshomaru—"

"No! No! It's fine! You just ruined the entire civilization of the West! No problem!" Sesshomaru growled.

"She will be married next week, Sesshomaru and she's miserable! She feels imprisoned the same way we do—possibly worse because her father put her under my watch! It was the least I could do to let her see him one more time before her wedding!" Minko screamed back. Sher glared fiercely into Sesshomaru's suddenly faltering expression. It seemed that while Minko failed to know politics, Sesshomaru couldn't understand basic emotions—human and youkai alike. In hindsight, the intertwining souls were but the missing pieces to an even greater being of existence.

Sesshomaru didn't argue with Minko on her decision after that. He seemed to take pity on his father's lover, he even engaged in conversation with Izayoi at dinner and appeared friendly to her. Minko began to relax and was relieved to see Lord InuTaisho and Lady Izayoi as happy as they were. Through the week leading up to the princess's wedding, they made frequent visits to the palace and due to Minko's position, she was able to convince the feudal lord that their disappearances were simply the priestess wanting her lady to see the outside world under her protection and Lord Kaname grudgingly accepted that.

What Minko hadn't realized, however, was a seemingly harmless deed to help the people she cared about would lead to near cataclysmic and—with lack of a better term—heartbreaking end to the priestess's friendship with her faithful demon.

The first red flag rose in Minko's head when news came of Izayoi revoking her courtship. Lord Kaname was too panicked to find a new and suitable husband for his daughter to be outraged or question the sudden change of mind. Sesshomaru also grew distant of Minko after that, but arguments with his father also grew frighteningly frequent and almost dangerous to be around. Usually, Minko would lead Izayoi out of the room and distract her or try to take her back to the Capital, assuring the princess that the disputes had nothing to do with her. That is what Minko honestly thought. Sesshomaru was coming of age and would soon start challenging his father for dominance in preparation of his time on the throne. InuTaisho would say the same thing whenever he emerged from the room after Sesshomaru changed into his massive canine form and flew away in anger and defeat. What Minko didn't know was that her trips with the princess to the palace weren't the only trips Izayoi made to visit Lord InuTaisho. It wasn't until Minko met Lord Kaname in the main halls of the Capital one morning to collect Izayoi did she find out.

"It would appear, Midoriko, that your efforts to keep her from that demon only provoked her to see him more," the feudal lord said in a low voice as he paced around the priestess.

"I-I beg your pardon sir?" Minko asked, her heart racing within her chest.

"Either that, or you encouraged Izayoi to revoke her proposal and breed with that beast, you filthy half-breed!" Lord Kaname roared. Several guards came out from the trap doors within the walls then and pulled out their swords in that moment, holding them to Minko's neck. Beads of sweat pooled along her forehead.

"What? No! That was not my intention, sir!" Minko pleaded, "where is my princess?"

"Do you really not know?" Lord Kaname laughed, almost manic. Minko shook her head, her chest hollow. The feudal lord then fell back to his place on the floor laughing at some sick joke the priestess did not yet know. "She eloped! She ran out in the middle of that night to join with that vile beast! She left a note, apparently on her way to the Southern Kingdoms with that monster! And this is all your fault, you filthy half-breed. So prepare to die, Midoriko!"

Minko let out a shriek and barely had time to close her eyes with the sound of a weapon piercing flesh and the thuds of bodies hitting the floor deafened her. The only noise or voice that she could distinguish in those horrible few seconds were Lord Kaname's pleading and screams as his life ended.

Minko dared to open an eye and found Sesshomaru's back to her as he held his hand out, his claws dripping with poison. He stood over the feudal lord's body and spat, "Her name is not Midoriko, you insect."

"Sesshomaru?" Minko asked, taking a step forward. The demon wasted no time in spinning around and scooping her into his arms as he took off running out of the great halls, flying past screaming and crying villagers. Minko was barely able to register the fact that he had her sword and spear strapped to his sash when she asked, "What happened to Izayoi?"

"I'm not sure you want me to answer that," Sesshomaru spat through gritted teeth. "You will only feel guilt that is unnecessary."

"Sesshomaru! Please tell me!" Minko pleaded over and over again but Sesshomaru refused to answer. Several hours later, they stopped in a clearing to allow the demon to rest and rehydrate. Minko gladly gave the demon her water pouch and he wasted no time in accepting her gesture.

"It's none of your concern at this point!" Sesshomaru eventually shouted back. Something had angered—no, infuriated—him. Something that Minko had done. Something horrible. Sesshomaru paced back and forth in almost panic, muttering to himself. "I have no choice, it's nothing but inconvenience. Father may not forgive me, but it doesn't deserve life, it will only bring danger to my people…"

"What life? What are you talking about?" Minko screamed angrily. It was at that point, that the sensation of being watched struck both demon and priestess like a small buzz in the back of their head. Minko spun around and observed the movement from behind the shrubbery within the forest. Something was watching them. Sesshomaru immediately lowered his stance and tossed Minko her spear.

"Show yourself, _half-breed_," Sesshomaru ordered with a low and threatening voice. The term he used…it caused shivers to run up Minko's spine. She hadn't heard that word used in a long time. She wasn't sure she wanted to ever hear that again, especially coming from Sesshomaru.

The child emerged from behind a tree with a dirt-covered and tear-stained face. His fluffy black hair was matted to his head, making the large pointed cat-ears on the top of his head even more prominent. His lime green eyes only appeared more vibrant against the redness and residue from his previous sobbing. It didn't take Minko long to realize that the half-demon boy was either orphaned or abandoned. She approached him, but when the boy let out a whimper and cowered away, she knelt down at a slower pace and set her spear to the ground, holding out her hand.

"Minko, what are you doing? He's dangerous," Sesshomaru whispered only to receive a pointed glare from his comrade.

"He is no more dangerous than you or me. He's a child!" Minko whispered back. She then put on a smile and inched forward towards the boy, holding her hand out. "It's okay, little one. We won't hurt you."

The boy stared at Minko with a frightened yet stoic expression but did not run away. As if on cue, the loud rumbling of his stomach caused the boy to jump and hunker forward, his eyes closed tightly to fight tears.

"Are you hungry?" Minko asked gently. She subconsciously reached to a pouch tied to her sash that had been filled with rice. It wasn't much, but it was handy for long trips with little food in the environment. She held the pouch in her hand and motioned for the boy to take it. He did so with slow and uncertain movement. He stared at the pouch with wide and starving eyes before he immediately took a handful of rice in his hand and began shoving it in his mouth and crying.

"Okay, he's fed," Sesshomaru spat. "Let's go."

"What?" Minko looked back at her friend in disbelief. "Sesshomaru, this boy is starving! We can't just leave him! I'm going to take him with me."

"No you can't!" Sesshomaru spat back. "Minko, he's a half-breed, a nuisance, he doesn't belong!"

"Then what does that make me?" Minko asked daringly. Before she realized it, she had shot up to her feet and was standing on her toes to meet the demon eye-to-eye. They both glared fiercely at each other but Sesshomaru's glare only faltered when Minko added, "If I am just a nuisance that doesn't belong then you can leave me behind with this boy!"

"Minko, I—"

"Don't 'Minko' me, Dog-breath!" Minko then spun around on her heel and knelt beside the crying child, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Now, what is your name, sweetheart?"

The boy looked up at Minko with terrified and familiar eyes and whimpered, "T-Takeru"

"Well, Takeru, I'm Minko," the priestess said gently. "How old are you?"

"Seven," Kai answered.

"My, what a big boy you are!" Minko smiled, causing the little boy to giggle. She made a mistake when she asked, "Do you have a family?"

Takeru began crying all over again as he shook his head. "Mommy died and Daddy left me…I don't belong anywhere," he sobbed.

Minko barely registered Sesshomaru approaching her as she took Takeru into her arms and stroked his dirty hair, whispering, "But you do belong, Takeru. You belong with me. I'm just like you."

Takeru wiped his eyes and looked up at Minko with hopeful eyes and asked, "You really mean it?"

"Of course!" Minko said sweetly, "I'll always be here to take care of you!"

"And I shall protect you," Sesshomaru said, startling both half-breeds. Takeru looked up at Sesshomaru but pulled handfuls of Minko's haori into his bundled fists and Minko's jaw all but fell to the ground. The demon ignored his comrade and sighed, "My name is Sesshomaru."

Minko stuttered out a few incoherent noises in a miserable attempt at forming her words, but Sesshomaru merely held a clawed hand up to silence her.

"You're right," he admitted. "And I am sorry."

"Right about what?" Minko shrieked.

"I was rash and judgmental. And wrong for calling half-breeds a nuisance. You were right that I was merely fearful of my lack of understanding of interracial breeding," Sesshomaru humbly explained. Minko slowly managed to close her mouth. That was not at all what she had meant and she had almost no idea what he was talking about, but she was never one to turn down an apology from a stubborn dog demon! Sesshomaru did not await an answer and merely turned his back to the two, stating, "we do not have much time. Izayoi and my father are waiting for us at the palace of our human allies."

With that, Sesshomaru transformed into his massive dog form and lowered his head and upper body to allow Minko and Takeru to climb on top of his back. The next several days passed by in a blur, barely allowing the priestess to process all the information she had received. She only saw Izayoi and InuTaisho briefly, but she could tell that the grand life of the Western Lord and the princess was all but finished. Enemies, human and demon alike, were now after their heads in a time of such vulnerability. One name, Ryukotsusei, came up quite frequently. But none of that was comparable to the biggest news Minko had received, and it certainly explained Sesshomaru's behavior towards Takeru the previous night: Izayoi was pregnant.

There was barely any time for Minko to process the news before she was swept off her feet again and on the run. Sesshomaru and InuTaisho had both explained to Minko that she was an instant target for demons thanks to her blood and now her friendship with the dog demons and that it wasn't safe for her to associate with Izayoi any longer. She was back to living life on the run, just as she had done with her mother. The only difference now was that she had taken on the role of caregiver and was looking after Takeru. Thankfully, she didn't spend much time without Sesshomaru by her side. He would leave frequently, telling Minko not to look or wait for him. The first few times, the priestess was left to wonder whether or not she would see her friend again, but he would always find her, no matter how long he was gone or how far he had traveled.

Until one day, nine months after Minko received the news. She hadn't seen Izayoi since, but she knew the princess was due any day now. It was a normal morning (at least normal for the routine the trio had settled into), Minko and Takeru were walking hand-in-hand with a small village in sight while Sesshomaru kept slightly behind and on Minko's left, constantly surveying the land when he stopped suddenly and sniffed the air. Minko barely sensed distress coming from Sesshomaru and turned around, "Something wrong?"

"I shall return soon," was all Sesshomaru said before he took to the air and flew away. At first Minko thought nothing of it, and she continued her travels with Takeru, but days turned to weeks, and the priestess knew something was horribly wrong when Takeru began asking where his mighty and impenetrable protector was. Minko began to worry more and more, but there was nothing that could be done when neither she nor her adopted little brother had the ability to smell and track down scents like dog demons could. It wasn't until two months later on the last night of Obon did Minko find him again.

A year after her life changed, Minko found herself spending the Obon festival in the small village of her birth, just miles away from the old Capital of the West. Part out of coincidence and part out of sentimentality, Minko dared to venture into the village. As always, the villagers welcomed both her and Takeru with open arms and celebrated both the festival and their priestess's return. Takeru instantly began making friends and played with the more fearless children at the festivities. Minko found a small inn for them to stay at and told Takeru where to go after Toro Nagashi had finished, promising that she would meet him back in their room. Once the little boy was satisfied and playing like all children should, Minko quietly bought a paper lantern and began heading towards her usual spot along the riverbank outside the village. As the moon rose higher in the sky, Minko could feel its affects taking hold of her. She would glance at the ground periodically to find two small patches of light shining on the grass and she knew that her eyes had begun transforming into their usual pale glow. She pushed her way through the bushes but paused when she heard an all too familiar voice say, "It is dangerous for you to be this close to the old Western Capital."

"Sesshomaru!" Minko gasped upon seeing the back of her good friend. Relief washed over her and she set her lantern down hastily, running up to the demon to wrap her arms around his arms and chest. "I was so worried that something happened! I—Sesshomaru?" When she realized what she was doing, Minko knew that the sensation of a hug was so foreign to the two that Sesshomaru would tense, but the shiver she felt run up his back and the slight trembling of his shoulders sent alarms off in Minko's head. Something was wrong.

"Inuyasha is safe with his mother for now," he was in a low voice. "And that is Lord Sesshomaru from on."

Minko's arms fell to her sides. She wasn't sure, but she had a horrible idea as to what that meant. The priestess rocked to the side of her foot to get a glance of the demon's face, but guessing her intentions, Sesshomaru hastily turned his head away, yet Minko still caught glimpse of the few tears that fell from his eyes. "Oh, Sesshomaru…"

"He died protecting that woman and half-bree—I mean, child," Sesshomaru spat. "I am Lord of the West now. These lands are under my jurisdiction and I will not make the same mistakes my father did."

Minko stared at Sesshomaru for a long time. There was nothing that could be said to the uptight demon that would be of any help. Instead, she knelt down to pick up her lantern, then walked to Sesshomaru's side and held it up to him.

Sesshomaru blinked several times and shook his head in confusion, "What is this?"

"It's Toro Nagashi," Minko answered, "Obon is a time of celebration. It is when our departed kin return from the afterlife to comfort the living. We celebrate their presence and guide them back home at the end of the celebration with the light from our lanterns. Your father and my mother are here tonight waiting to be led back to heaven. I've always said the prayer and lit the lantern, would you like to do the honors this time?"

Sesshomaru gazed at Minko with near disbelief as he took the lantern in his hands. "What do I do?" he asked.

Minko smiled and lit the lantern for the demon, then placed a firm hand on his shoulder so the two knelt down beside the river and said, "Hold it to your lips and say a prayer to your father. When you're done, place it in the river, and the water's current will do the rest."

"But what do I say?" the dog demon gave Minko sad and distraught eyes that were not unlike the expression Takeru wore the night they found him. Minko subconsciously rubbed her friend's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

"Anything you want," she answered. Sesshomaru sat there staring at the lantern for a moment before he slowly lifted it up and closed his eyes. His silence was brief and he then placed it in the water, pushing it away slowly. Minko watched as the demon set his jaw firmly in place, not daring to show weakness.

"Minko?" he finally asked. The priestess looked up at her friend who turned his head away and asked, "This feeling…is this why you were crying at Obon last year? Did you truly feel this miserable?"

"She was my mother," Minko answered in a soft voice, "just as he was your father. It's okay to be sad."

Sesshomaru let out something that sounded like a mixture of a sarcastic laugh and a choked sob. "I had no idea grief was this painful. All this time, I thought it was something to laugh at," he managed to let out with a shaking voice.

"Hug?" Minko asked. Sesshomaru looked at her for a moment, his golden eyes confused and slightly disgusted, but Minko knew better and held out her arms whispering, "No one is around to see."

Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands. Takeru's impenetrable and mighty protector. The great dog demon himself, and deep down, even he was nothing more than a little boy, a son wanting nothing more than to make his father proud. And now, now that son sat with his head buried in his best friend's chest as he cried for that father and hero who was taken by the cold grasp of death long before his time, the only comfort he would ever receive in his life time from the warm arms of a young girl who should have been his enemy, and yet there she sat holding him and stroking his hair, two children alone in the world and mourning for the people they had once held most dear.

* * *

For two years, Sesshomaru never spoke a word or even mentioned his infant brother's name, nor would he speak of his father and merely turned his nose up whenever Minko made the slightest mention of either visiting his grave or checking in on Inuyasha. That stubborn mut…Minko learned quickly to not mention Inuyasha's or Izayoi's names in front of Sesshomaru, but she still had a feeling that even he was still concerned for his little brother. No one, not even a dog demon, could cry that hard for that long as he did the night of Obon and not care about what was left of his family. Minko wasn't sure, but she guessed that his lack of mentioning the little boy had a great deal to do with both Sesshomaru's pride and the pressure he was feeling under his new title.

The priestess could tell that Sesshomaru was less ready to be Lord of the West than Minko was to be Priestess Midoriko. In other words, he wasn't ready at all. He was, however, very good at faking it. After Obon, Sesshomaru returned to his father's palace, sent his father's old servants away, notified both his allies and his enemies of Sesshomaru's new position (and subsequently ordered them to either not bother him or accept immediate death) before he boarded up the palace and never looked back. He met Minko and Takeru on the border between the human settlement and what used to be Lord InuTaisho's kingdom, then handed pieces of parchment with the remaining notifications to Minko and said, "I need you to help me send these."

Minko took the parchment papers in her hands and looked through them, her eyebrows raising in slight alarm. "Concern yourself with no more than your own affairs or accept death as punishment for invading my domain?" Minko asked, reading through one of them. Her voice raised an octave in the last part of the sentence and Sesshomaru let out a heavy sigh as she turned to him and said, "Sesshomaru! This is addressed to the Northern Dragon Clan! They were your father's closest allies apart from the Wolf Tripe!"

"They were also the clan which Ryukotsusei was born into," Sesshomaru said flatly.

"And Ryukotsusei was a rogue," Minko pointed out. "They sent you a formal apology and a gift basket! A literal gift basket! Who's ever heard of such a thing?"

"It was gaudy and unnecessary," Sesshomaru spat back.

"It was nice!" Minko protested. She then stepped in front of Sesshomaru to bring him to a halt and shoved the parchment papers into his chest, ordering, "Rewrite these _now_."

"I am Lord of the West," Sesshomaru stated, not wanting to accept Minko's argument.

"And I am a priestess," Minko retorted. Sesshomaru scoffed at her statement and began pushing away when the girl sighed and added, "And also your best friend."

Sesshomaru halted at that and turned back to find a very sad looking priestess frowning at him. Takeru, who seemed oblivious to just about everything, took the time to interrupt the disagreement when he came spilling out of the trees he had been previously climbing and rammed himself into Sesshomaru, giggling madly. "Takeru!" the dog demon shouted angrily. The half-cat demon merely broke out into another fit of laughter and ran over to his sister, leaping into Minko's arms. That boy could bring a smile to her face no matter what the situation was. Sesshomaru frowned at that. What was so special about that-that _kitten_?

Minko exchanged a few words with Takeru before she turned her head up to Sesshomaru and said, "I just don't want to see you get hurt, Sesshomaru. I trust your judgment, but right now, as much as you hate to admit it, you're grieving and vulnerable and you need all the allies you can get. Just…_please_ consider rewriting those notifications."

And, simply because she asked, Sesshomaru did. It was the single most annoying thing Sesshomaru had ever done in his life, but the smile on Minko's face when she read the new versions of the notifications was worth it.

Strangely enough, the allies who received the revised notifications replied with a much kinder response and a better relationship with Sesshomaru than the ones who received the original ones (Sesshomaru wasn't quite sure why the Wolf Tribe stopped talking to him though).

And so, as Lord of the West, he lived life as a nomad, travelling with Minko and Takeru at his side. Even though he was a cat, Takeru grew on Sesshomaru. He looked up to the dog demon and his face lit up whenever he received some form of praise from him. On the flip side, Takeru absolutely deflated and no amount of consolidation could pull the boy out of his depression whenever Sesshomaru scolded him or got angry with the boy. After a few months of travel, when Sesshomaru finally realized the connection between Takeru's mood and Sesshomaru's opinion of the boy that day (well, Minko beat the connection into the dog demon until he was black and blue for a good two hours…and that was hard to do), he started making a point to avoid any harsh scolding towards the boy. Not speaking his mind was possibly the second hardest thing Sesshomaru had ever done.

The single most hardest thing for Sesshomaru had entirely to do with Minko. In the two years he traveled with the priestess, the dog demon started noticing a change. Minko started growing more and more secretive around Sesshomaru. Normally, she could tell him anything, but there was at least one topic that she only shared with Takeru, and whenever Sesshomaru walked in on what appeared to be a private conversation, Minko would either yell at Sesshomaru to leave or she would suddenly become embarrassed and shy as her entire face turned bright red. Sesshomaru knew that he shouldn't care what Minko shared with him and what she didn't, and normally, he would have cared less. Something about this secret of the priestess really bothered Sesshomaru, however. Not only did it bother him, but suddenly the idea that Minko couldn't completely confide in the dog demon and didn't feel at liberty to share everything with him made the Lord of the West sick to his stomach.

And when they traveled. It took everything Sesshomaru had not to take Minko's hand in his. Everything about the priestess stood out to him: her soft skin, her silky hair, her smile, her mysterious eyes, her laugh, her…_breasts_. And not only that, but the demon was suddenly acutely aware of how she reacted to everything he said and did, and doing something that upset Minko made Sesshomaru feel worse about himself than the day his father died. It was pathetic, and what was worse: Sesshomaru had no idea why this was happening to him.

There were times when Sesshomaru would watch Minko and Takeru play together, and he would begin to understand what he was feeling. Takeru was a free spirit and Minko…well, simply put, she was wonderful, kind, and…beautiful. Some days, Sesshomaru would begin to wonder if there was such a thing as love after all.

But then, perhaps by fate or perhaps by coincidence, every human emotion that Sesshomaru had ever felt or wondered if he had felt came crashing together in a screaming and terrified little boy. Minko, Takeru, and Sesshomaru had been travelling together for two years and by that point, both dog demon and priestess had established names for themselves. Sesshomaru was a highly respected and feared demon lord while Minko had become a friendly and welcomed face amongst demons and humans alike. She rarely ever slayed demons, but rather encouraged them to make agreements with nearby humans settlements. For a short time, her efforts brought peace to the West. Something had disturbed the demons that afternoon, however, and the trio had been chasing a tag team of rogues who had their hearts set on prey as if they were afraid of it overpowering them one day.

"Why won't they stop?" Minko called out to Sesshomaru. Beads of sweat fell from her temples as she charged her spear with spiritual energy. Sesshomaru eyed Minko skeptically. Would she be able to kill them if it came to it? He shook the thought off and turned his attention to the demons ahead of them. One stumbled and crashed to the ground, slowing the entire group down and Sesshomaru took the opportunity to get ahead of them and bring the party to a stop.

"As Lord of the West and your superior, I am ordering you to stop!" Sesshomaru declared. "There is no threat to you in these woods and plenty of food, there is no reason for you to be hunting prey as violently and persistently as you are. Explain yourselves!"

"There is nothing to explain, Lord Sesshomaru," one serpentine demon hissed. "And I am hesitant to accept your leadership if you are anything like your father, and so far, you do not impress me. Associating with that priestess and kitten…you must know what we are chasing after."

"I haven't the slightest idea," Sesshomaru spat back. "But whether you question my authority or not, you are to stand down and do as I say, am I clear?"

"Transparently," a larger, more implike demon answered. Then, before he realized what was happening, the serpentine demon lunged towards Sesshomaru to attack.

"Sesshomaru!" Minko screamed, leaping in front of the dog demon. She struck the snake with her spear and purified it instantly. And, just to make a point, she let enough spiritual energy escape her weapon to singe the hairs on Sesshoamru's arms. He trusted Minko, but even that amount of power was enough to make the demon grasp hold of Takeru's hand and take a step back. When the snake disintegrated and left all demons present trembling where they stood, Minko ceased her spiritual release and slammed the end of her spear to the ground, ordering, "I think we've made ourselves perfectly clear!"

The remaining demons wasted no time in running for their lives, scattering with the wind. When they were gone, Sesshomaru shot Minko an evil glare and growled, "What was that about?"

Minko panted heavily and wiped the sweat from her brow, "I was making a point."

"You killed that demon!"

"It's what you would have done," Minko replied. "It was going to kill you."

Sesshomaru clenched his jaw so tightly that the muscle in his jaw began twitching. "Exactly, that is what I _should_ have done. You can't go around protecting me, Minko! You'll ruin my reputation!"

"Like you always protect me?" Minko asked, her temper flaring. "I'm not some damsel in distress, Sesshomaru! I am a full-fledged priestess and we are a team! We look out for each other!"

And just like that, the two began their shouting match. Disagreements such as that were growing more frequent, and both souls were beginning to fear the strain in their relationship and wondering how they would stop fighting. Takeru had also grown fearful of the combination of Minko's temper and Sesshomaru's anger issues. The little boy took the opportunity to step away and find something to do until they had each calmed down, but when he turned, his priorities changed immediately: "Hey, guys?"

Of course, the two weren't paying a lick of attention to the kitten and Takeru narrowed his eyes and screamed, "SHUT UP!" so loudly his voice cracked and almost sounded like a roaring house cat. Both demon and priestess jumped to scold Takeru but Sesshomaru's jaw dropped to the floor and Minko's eyes widened and her motherly instincts almost immediately took over.

"Hello there," she said softly, placing her hands on her knees. Takeru took a hesitant step towards the other little boy in front of him. He was much younger than Takeru, possibly a toddler, but he had long white hair and small triangular ears at the top of his head, similar to Takeru's, but the boy knew he couldn't be a cat demon. His ears were too small and his coloring was all wrong. He did, however, look just like Sesshomaru.

"Who are you?" the toddler asked with the stutter of someone barely learning to speak. Takeru began to introduce himself when Sesshomaru suddenly knelt down beside him, his face paler than usual.

"I-Inuyasha, I presume?" he asked suddenly. The toddler's golden eyes turned into saucers and Takeru glanced up at Sesshomaru in confusion. Did he know this boy? The cat demon turned back to Minko who now stood numbly behind him, her eyes fixated on the dog demon. He didn't know why, but for some reason, this Inuyasha person was very important.

"How did you know that?" the toddler asked with more courage than any child should ever possess. He placed his hands on his hips and puffed his chest out as if to stand up to Sesshomaru like he had a chance.

"Because…I'm…" Sesshomaru glanced up at Minko who nodded her head fervently, but the dog demon suddenly squinted his eyes shut and asked, "Where is your mother?"

At that, Inuyasha's eyes fell to the ground and he let out a whimper, "I know I scared her…but…she needs help! Please, Mister, you have to help Mother!"

"What's wrong?" Minko asked, walking past Sesshomaru and Takeru and kneeling down beside the toddler. "I'm a priestess. I might be able to help."

"She feels hot and she won't wake up," Inuyasha whimpered. "She said not to leave but they told me she was sick. They said that one day she would close her eyes and never wake up!"

Alarm went off behind Minko's eyes and she then exchanged glances with Sesshomaru. The dog demon sighed heavily and nodded. He didn't want to face it, but he was about to make amends with Lady Izayoi and Inuyasha whether he was ready for it or not. At least, if he didn't voluntarily, Minko would make sure he did. Before they realized it, Minko had scooped Takeru up in her arms and silently ordered Sesshomaru to take Inuyasha into his. The two ran as fast as they could to the closest village, hoping Inuyasha would show some form of recognition of it. Sure enough, the village was a wealthy one and the toddler pointed to where his mother lived. When they ran through the gates, however, they were greeted by several pitch forks and other weapons.

"Farming tools?" Sesshoaru groaned in disgust, then received a sharp jab of Minko's elbow against his side for him to shut his mouth.

"Vile demons! That wench has cursed us for all eternity and I am absolutely sick of it!" one elder man shouted. He then waved his sword in Sesshomaru's face and spat, "if you are the boy's father then you can either rid our village of this curse or perish with your wench and child!"

Sesshomaru glanced down at Inuyasha who stared up at him with slight disgust and the dog demon cringed in return as the two both questioned, "_Father_?"

Minko rolled her eyes at the two. If they weren't being threatened by villagers, she would have found the two's similar reaction towards the question adorable, but the priestess had other things to worry about. Standing up as tall as she could, Minko announced, "Please, my good men! I am Priestess Midoriko, I can help you. I understand that this child's mother is gravely ill and I simply wish to help!"

"You are the tainted priestess who allows demons and half demons to travel at your side!" another man shouted. "You will only lead us to our destruction! The great snake says so himself!"

"Great snake?" Minko asked. What were they talking about? "What great snake?"

"God!" the man shouted back. "And that is all you will get out of me!"

A god that was a snake. Well, that couldn't be good. Minko shrugged the thought off and set her priorities in order. Clearly these villagers weren't going to comply with her so Minko did the only thing she could: she pushed Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, and Takeru behind her and pulled out one of her talismans, releasing a blinding purification spell and signaled the other three to follow her while the villagers were distracted. They followed Inuyasha, whose stubby little legs couldn't carry him nearly as fast as he wanted them to and came up to a locked door. Sesshomaru didn't have the patience nor pride to avoid kicking the door down as he waltzed inside. He disappeared into the house and reemerged moments later with a grave expression on his face.

"I'll stand guard out here," he said. "Takeru, stay behind me. Minko, you and Inuyasha go on ahead…she is awake."

Minko took Inuyasha's hand and led him to his mother's room. It had been roughly three years since she saw Princess Izayoi, but the woman looked to have hardly aged a day. The only difference in her, however, was the pale and sunken in cheeks of a grave and deadly illness. Even before Minko sat down at the woman's bedside, she knew she was too late to save her. So, the priestess did the only thing she could do. She sat Inuyasha on her lap and took Izayoi's hand, whispering, "Princess?"

In response, Izayoi opened her eyes with all the strength the could muster and said weakly, "I have not heard that title in such a long time…Priestess?"

"It is I, My Lady," Minko replied in a soft voice. "It's been three years since we last met."

Izayoi turned her head to see Minko and said, "Midoriko…they called you a different name…my dearest and his elder son did…Minko?"

"Yes, ma'am," Minko answered, "but you may call me whatever you please."

"Where is Inuyasha…?" Izayoi croaked, tears clinging to the corners of her eyes.

"He's here," Minko whispered, then picked up Inuyasha and set him down on the bed beside his mother. Izayoi lifted a trembling hand and placed it on the boy's cheek and immediately began sobbing as she pulled an unknowing toddler to her chest. Minko fought back her own tears, the two women both knew that Izayoi only had moments left. Izayoi struggled to look up and say a few words of gratitude to the priestess, but Minko merely shook her head and stood. There was nothing left to say, the priestess understood full well what she had done for her princess. Whether or not it was for the better, Minko still was not sure. So, with nothing more to do for her princess, Minko left Lady Izayoi alone with her child for the last bit of her life she had left to live.

She found Sesshomaru and Takeru where she left them at the doorway. The dog demon stared intently outside with his sword drawn. Minko raised an eyebrow at the sword. It was a token from his father but she had never _ever_ seen Sesshomaru use that sword before, no matter how difficult a battle he had gotten in.

"How is she?" Sesshomaru asked without averting his gaze.

"Not well," Minko sighed, her shoulders deflating. "I figured she needed to spend her last moments with her son."

"When do we leave?" Sesshomaru then asked. Minko shot the demon a glare. Really?

"After we give Izayoi a proper burial," Minko answered. At that, Sesshomaru rolled his eyes. She wasn't sure if it was a demon thing or not, but for some reason, the idea of "proper human burials" annoyed the absolute crap out of the man.

"And Inuyasha?" Sesshomaru asked, knowing he wouldn't be able to argue his way out of a funeral.

"When he's done saying goodbye to his mother, we'll leave," Minko answered.

"He can't live on his own," Sesshomaru pointed out. "He's still an infant."

"Which is why we'll leave when Inuyasha's ready to go," Minko said, crossing her arms. "He's coming with us, Sesshomaru."

The realization appeared to hit Sesshomaru like a ton of bricks striking him upside the head as he spun around and whined, "Minko!"

"He's your _brother_, Sesshomaru!" she scolded.

"But he's a half-!" Sesshomaru began, then suddenly Minko's expression changed and he looked from the priestess to Takeru and back, realizing the hole he was about to dig. There was _no_ way he could argue with the "half-breed" statement by this point. Sesshomaru held his breath and said, "but he's a toddler! He won't stand a chance out there, even with us around!"

"Better choice of words compared to what you were about to say," Minko noted stiffly. "And if he doesn't stand a chance with us, then he'll be killed instantly no matter where we would leave him. Without you, he's completely alone in this world now that his mother is gone."

"She's not dead yet," Sesshomaru pointed out, but immediately quit arguing once he saw the look Minko gave him. And so, he gave in, and the three waited for the sounds of passing. As Inuyasha cried, Minko took the boy in her arms to comfort him as Sesshomaru took Izayoi's body and carried it to a suitable place. The clearing he found, however, was a small patch of grass along the riverbank just a few miles east from where Minko and Sesshomaru celebrated the last night of Obon together over the past five years. The woman in his arms suddenly felt heavier as his mind drifted. How perfect a place this would be. He set Izayoi down in the grass and went back to collect the others before he and Minko dug the princess's grave. Takeru sat with Inuyasha in his lap, watching the two with solemn eyes. It must have been midnight before Inuyasha was consolable enough to pull him away from his mother's grave. But even then, it was too late for them to move on and the toddler spent the night sleeping next to the cold stone face with his mother's name carved into it.


	4. A Mated Pair

As promised, another chapter! Still some set up and a lot of fluff, but hey, character development is important! Next chapter'll definitely have a lot of action so hold onto your seats folks! Onwards and Upwards!

ENJOI

* * *

If Sesshomaru thought he was bad about speaking his mind, he paled in comparison to his younger brother. Inuyasha was a force of nature that could not be controlled. Takeru was also a wild boy when he was younger, but Minko could at least settle him down. There was no stopping Inuyasha once he got started. To make things worse, around his twelfth birthday, Minko and Sesshomaru noticed Takeru's aging slow, much like most full-fledged demons. Which meant Inuyasha was catching up to him in biological age. Which meant the two were becoming best friends. Which meant that once one got riled up, the other's energy amplified ten-fold and they kicked off some bizarre chain reaction that could not be stopped once it started. Usually, Inuyasha was the instigater in it all, and for that reason, Sesshomaru hoped to the gods that his brother's aging would slow down as well, because if he became older than Takeru in maturity, all hell would break loose.

Yet despite the chaos of two rambunctious boys and constantly fighting off demons and humans alike, Minko seemed to take it all in stride. Even on sleepless nights, the woman would emerge the next morning bright-eyed and cheerful. It was obvious that Sesshomaru admired the priestess for that, but still, the strange feelings he began noticing three years previous only grew stronger and more violent as Minko matured both mentally and physically. By the time she was eighteen, the dog demon was barely able to contain his growing insanity over not knowing what was wrong with him.

Until Inuyasha made a point to explain it all to him one evening.

"Why don't you just tell her?" the boy asked one evening. Sesshomaru had taken his brother hunting with him (and no, not per Minko's encouragement. He was letting the little boy grow on him, much to Minko's pleasant surprise) and Inuyasha wasn't lifting a finger to help his elder brother skin the deer they had just killed, but rather, he was lying on his stomach kicking his legs freely and bringing up topics Sesshomaru couldn't possibly understand.

"Tell who what?" Sesshomaru asked in a low voice. His tolerance with this insufferable child was beginning to grow thin as he yanked at the slit on the deer's back, trying to shove his hand into the space between the skin and the muscle to tear any connective tissue. Inuyasha let out a loud groan and rolled onto his back as if Sesshomaru was missing something blatantly obvious.

"Minko!" Inuyasha shouted. Sesshomaru glanced up at the boy, still not getting where this was going and Inuyasha puckered his lip as if to pout and explained, "You. Like. Her."

He didn't know why, but for some reason, Sesshomaru's heart began pounding within his chest. The demon looked back down at his dinner and said, "Of course I do. I wouldn't travel with her if she wasn't a suitable companion."

"No, no, no, no!" Inuyasha groaned again. "You use big words, Brother, it hurts my head. But anyway! I don't mean you like her, I mean you _like_ her!"

At that, Sesshomaru paused and sat up a little straighter. "What part of that sentence made any sense?" Sesshomaru asked incredulously. "You just repeated yourself."

"I'm trying to say that you _liiiiiiiike_ her! Are you stupid or something?" Inuyasha asked. If this brat didn't shut up…

"Dragging out a word is not going to make your point any more comprehendable, Inuyasha," Sesshomaru lectured. Inuyasha lost his patience in that moment and rose to his feet. The elder sibling thought the conversation was dismissed until the younger suddenly rammed himself into Sesshomaru's chest, pulling the demon away from his work. The half-demon bounced excitedly in his brother's lap, tugging on Sesshomaru's haori and mokomoko.

"Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha whined, "Why can't you just say that you _love_ Minko?"

…..

"WHAT?" Sesshomaru screamed as he leapt to his feet and shoved his brother off his lap. If he were ever to lose his composure, this would be the only time it would happen. "This Sesshomaru loves no woman!"

"Yeah right," Inuyasha teased. "If you don't like her, then why do you two always act like me and Takeru's mom and dad?"

"You're orphans, imbicile," Sesshomaru spat. "And I do not act like a father. Look, just because Minko and I are of the opposite sex doesn't meant that I have feelings for her."

Inuyasha let out a series of small giggles after that and he rolled onto his back and said, "sure it does! I see the way you look at her. And she always turns red whenever you're around!"

"I don't look at her," Sesshomaru said in a low voice. Inuyasha crossed his arms and stared knowingly up at his elder brother. There was a long pause before Sesshomaru hesitantly asked, "…is she really only that red when I'm around?"

"I KNEW IT!" Inuyasha screamed, leaping up to his feet.

"I was asking a question!" Sesshomaru attempted to clarify, but Inuyasha merely danced around in circles chanting, "Minko and Sesshomaru, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes—uh…I don't remember how the rest of that goes…"

"Then be silent," Sesshomaru spat. Inuyasha paused and looked up at Sesshomaru with sad eyes. The sudden mood swing sent a chill of unease up the demon's spine. Takeru once had a habit of giving him those eyes whenever the daiyoukai said something that hurt the boy's feelings. On instinct, Sesshomaru sucked in his pride and said, "I didn't mean to sound harsh, Inuyasha…"

The little boy's lips quivered and his eyes grew large with tears as he whimpered, "Why can't you just tell her you love her?"

With that, the little boy ran off crying to Minko.

Sesshomaru just stood there. And by that point, he didn't care about the raging priestess that would come chasing him down in a matter of minutes.

Had he…fallen in love?

* * *

"MIIIIIINKOOOOO!" she heard him whaling as he came tumbling down the hill. The priestess sighed. Oh boy, what did Sesshomaru do this time? Minko barely had time to look up when Inuyasha rammed himself into her, his shoulders trembling.

"What's wrong, Inuyasha?" Minko asked completely out of habit as she stroked his fluffy white hair. The boy sniveled for a moment before both of them looked up. Takeru even stopped what he was doing and the three waited for the silver-haired daiyoukai to come skidding down the hill declaring that he had not actually done wrong.

"Um," Minko started. She glanced down at Inuyasha who also waited expectantly.

"Where is he?" Takeru asked. He then shot Inuyasha a glare and scolded, "Inuyasha! You said this would work!"

"What would?" Minko asked suspiciously. She narrowed her eyes at the two boys as Inuyasha leapt out of her lap and stamped his foot to the ground in a mild tantrum.

"Oh, come on! That trick always works on him!" the hanyou whined.

"What trick?" Minko asked, but she suddenly felt like an idiot. The apple really didn't fall too far from the tree. "You can't mean to tell me that all those times you came running you were faking it!"

Inuyasha let out a snicker, "You thought I was serious?"

"Yes!"

"HA! That's even better!" he spat back, laughing uncontrollably, "I just love seeing him squirm! 'This Sesshomaru loves no one' my ass!"

Minko was so appalled by the boy's use of language that she failed to hear Takeru laugh out, "He actually said that?" as she screamed, "LANGUAGE!"

"Yeah," Inuyasha mumbled, stuffing his hands in his sleeves, much like Sesshomaru did when he grew fed up with something. Takeru, in response fell on his butt laughing but the younger hanyou shook his head and sighed, "I never thought he'd be too chicken to admit it though…"

"Or stupid, one of the two," Takeru added in.

"Or both."

"Boys?" Minko asked, feeling horribly confused and left out, "what are you talking about?"

The response she got were the two most incredulous looks she had ever seen on children's faces before. Obviously she had missed something, but she couldn't figure it out for the life of her. Takeru then looked over at Inuyasha and ordered, "Don't."

Inuyasha then spat out a laugh and began to explain, "Sesshomaru likes you, idiot!"

That made absolutely no sense. "I'm sure he does," she answered. "I can't imagine he wouldn't travel with me for this long if he didn't."

Both Takeru's cringe and Inuyasha's smile fell, and the younger hanyou looked so annoyed, Minko would have thought he had been through this conversation before. "No, no, no, no! I ain't doing this again!" he groaned. He then spoke even slower and moved his hands about as if he were explaining this to an infant: "Sesshomaru. And you. In a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Do you get it or not?"

Minko stared blankly at the boys for a moment. But when the realization hit her, it was the hardest thing to strike her in the head in all her life.

"WHAT?" she shrieked. She tried to laugh it off and say they were just friends. She tried to say that it would never work between them. She tried to think of ways besides the whole "Priestess and Demon" dilemma that would make sense. But each time her mind began processing something sensible, the all to familiar sensation of pulling sweat and an overheated face took over. His long silver hair, his vibrant eyes, his…lean and…_muscular_ body….oh gods! What was she thinking?

Minko hadn't even realized she was sitting down or that her mouth was hanging open when both boys cocked their heads to the side and eyed her curiously. "Minko?" Takeru asked, but the priestess couldn't bring herself to respond.

"I think we broke her," Inuyasha stated.

"Or she could be on the verge of admitting it," Takeru pointed out, concern overflowing his large green eyes. "Look, her face is turning red."

"Or she's broken," Inuyasha repeated. "She would have said something by now."

"Can people actually break?" Takeru asked.

"I dunno," Inuyasha shrugged. "Hey Minko! Are you broken?"

She was too dumbfounded and confused to bother answering.

And, just to make things even worse, her knight in the silver coat came waltzing down the hill with a skinned dinner in tow, but a little too late declaring, "Minko, whatever they said, they are lying and—what did you two do?"

"Nothing!" both boys responded, knowing they were guilty. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes at them but otherwise said nothing. He then glanced over at Minko, slightly alarmed by her red-faced and wide-eyed state. Kneeling down, Sesshomaru placed a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Minko? What happened?" Sesshomaru asked. The priestess swallowed her courage and looked up at the daiyoukai, trying her best not to choke on the lump in her throat.

"Sesshomaru?" She asked with a weak voice. "Do you…?"

The daiyoukai tensed, anticipating the question and quickly spat, "This Sesshomaru has feelings for no one."

Minko felt her heart stop in her chest, "O-oh. I didn't think you did, anyway…"

He didn't understand why, but for some reason, Minko looked heartbroken in that instance. "What I meant to say was," Sesshomaru began, trying to fix what he didn't know he had broke, "We're good friends."

"Definitely," Minko responded, avoiding eye contact.

"I would lay down my life for you," Sesshomaru added.

"As would I," Minko said quickly, now trying to cover up any mistakes she made.

"But it would never work," Sesshomaru said. "You're my best friend but I don't see anything else."

"And neither do I," Minko said in a low voice, standing to her feet. This time, it was Sesshomaru's turn to freeze in place. He was relieved that they were in agreement, but something about Minko's words felt like a stab in the back. The priestess just walked off blindly not knowing the turmoil each soul had just put themselves in.

There was a long pause of silence even after she left, but Inuyasha being…_Inuyasha_, he was the first to speak up saying the wrong thing at the absolute wrong time: "Well that didn't work."

Takeru's ears flattened against his head and he narrowed his eyes sighing, "You're telling me…"

It was all Sesshomaru could do to keep from skinning _them_ and serving them on Minko's plate. "What," the daiyoukai began in a low voice, "the hell," Sesshomaru then stood on his feet and folded his arms in his sleeves to keep from digging his claws into their flesh, "were you two _doing?_"

Takeru and Inuyasha stared up at Sesshomaru with more fear than they had ever felt in their lives, and before either boy could think, they began pointing at each other to throw the other under the demon's foot and save their own skin.

"It was his idea!"

"Takeru made me do it!"

"I was just trying to be helpful but he thought it was a prank!"

"I just liked seeing you squirm is all!"

"You really are a tough guy too much though…"

"See! It's his fault!"

"No it's not! He did it!"

"I was just reeling ya in! He was the one who ruined the plan!"

"I didn't do anything!"

"I don't care who did it, you're both at fault so just tell me what the hell possessed you boys to think that was a good idea?" Sesshomaru roared and the two boys clasped their lips tightly, unwilling to answer. Takeru and Inuyasha exchanged glances before looking down at the ground with sad, defeated eyes.

"We were just trying to help…" Inuyasha sighed heavily. Sesshomaru could feel every muscle in his back and jaw tense when he saw that little lip quiver.

"We're sorry, sir," Takeru added. "We honestly thought you had the same feelings for Minko that she does for you."

And then the pit in his stomach began to form.

"What feelings?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Do you really not know?" Inuyasha then asked his brother, "Minko's in love with you, Brother!"

"But she just said—" Sesshomaru started before remembering the devastated expression on Minko's face as she said the words.

"She was covering it up," Takeru said. "She always covers things up when she doesn't want us to know that she's sad. You're the one who told me that in the first place, Lord Sesshomaru."

The daiyoukai stood there for a long moment, staring off in the distance while two hanyou boys stared expectantly back at him. The great Lord Sesshomaru, the man who, in just four years could make armies turn at the mention of his name. The man who had sworn to despise all half-breeds, the man who refused to believe in love was falling in love with the hanyou priestess herself and taking two others under his wing. Before he had time to think, the daiyoukai took off following Minko's scent, barely registering Takeru's and Inuyasha's wild cheers calling out from behind him. Before he realized what he was doing, Sesshomaru was preparing himself to do the hardest thing he would ever do in his life: fall in love to say goodbye.

* * *

Minko ran until her legs felt numb before she slowed her pace to a walk, wandering blindly with her spear in one hand and tears streaming from her face. She was such an idiot! She knew Sesshomaru would never return her feelings for him. He was a youkai, and youkai never expressed human affection. And not only that, but Sesshomaru had sworn to himself in front of Minko that he would never _ever_ accept a mate. He didn't believe in love, not after his parents had split. He even wrote off Lord InuTaisho's feelings for Izayoi as a rebound followed by a struggle to right his wrongs and save his dignity. Minko had accepted a long time ago that she would never be loved by Sesshomaru. At least not the way she wanted to be.

She continued forward, wiping her eyes continuously until she had gotten herself lost and had subsequently stopped crying. She glanced up at the moon periodically, thinking of her father. He had left shortly after Minko's birth and only appeared before them twice during the priestess's infancy. Had her conception merely been a demon's rebound? Had their love been fake? Minko vaguely remembered her mother's warning to avoid love—true love—for there stood a danger of a priestess replacing her love of peace and her work with her love of a man and as a result, she would lose her spiritual powers. But even after Minko's birth, Midoriko retained her powers; at most, they just diminished slightly while the priestess took time to care for her infant daughter. Perhaps there really was no such thing as love…at least love that could be returned.

"But you are wrong, dear child," a woman's voice spoke up. Minko jumped and looked around. There was a soft light shining from behind the trees in the darkness of the evening. The priestess looked around, following the light and she once again dropped her spear at the sight of Auntie Amy, beautiful as ever in her white robes and snow-white hair. "You have turned into a beauty, dearest Minko."

Minko took a hesitant step towards Amy. Her voice was as kind as ever, but the woman's face looked forlorn and…afraid? That couldn't be right. "Auntie," Minko said, "What am I wrong about?"

"There is such a thing as true love," she explained. "You're soul is but one half of a greater being. You are connected to your other half by fate, however, it is too early for you to love, or you will lose your powers. If you continue forward, then your world will vanish before your eyes."

"What are you talking about?" Minko asked. "My feelings for Sesshomaru are not returned, there is no way he could love me and take my spiritual powers away."

"Oh, but how you are wrong," Amy said, almost sounding as if she were weeping on the inside. "You must turn back, Minko! Turn away now, while you have the chance. It is night and my power is fading, but please heed my warning or you will be trapped by Destiny's cold hand. The gods are upon us and they will not cease until Time has filled its course."

As she spoke, her voice faded and her body grew transparent until her light disappeared and Minko was alone in the forest once more. She had every intention to follow her aunt's pleas, but as she turned around, the sound of running water caught her attention and she paused. There was a river nearby…it wouldn't hurt to collect some fresh water while she was out.

No. She needed to listen to Amy. There was no reason for her aunt to have that much power and look that concerned. Minko shook her head. She could get water in the morning when Sesshomaru was with her—

Sesshomaru…

Minko stood still for a long moment, contemplating what to do. Should she go back? Should she listen to Amy? What was she trying to warn Minko of anyway?

_Midoriko,_ it was soft, but the voice was deep and resonant in her ear and caused the priestess to jump.

"Who's there?" she asked, gripping her spear tightly. She lowered her body, ready to attack, but could not sense any sort of threat nearby.

_Midoriko,_ it whispered again, this time the voice was even softer. Almost soothing. _Priestess Midoriko, I need you…_

And that just about did the woman in. With both a duty and a heart that was just too kind, Minko followed the sound of the voice and approached the river ahead. She thought her eyes were tricking her when she saw a familiar glow off in the distance, and until she pushed through the bushes and saw who awaited her, Minko would have sworn it was Amy.

He stood on the water and was nothing short of magnificent. His midnight black hair had only the faintest blue shine to it and hung at his shoulders, pulled back in a half-ponytail. His face looked to have been carved out from marble which originated from the moon's surface and his cheeks and eyes were lined with light blue markings similar to Amy's red markings, the only difference was the pale yellow crescent on his forehead. Unlike Sesshomaru's mark, this crescent rested its curved end on the man's brow and curved all the way up to his hairline and was only a shade darker than his eyes. Eyes just like Minko's on the last night of Obon. When he opened his mouth, his deep and resonant voice nearly shook the earth and brought the river's tide to Minko's feet: "You've grown since we last met. But I am disappointed to see your heart captured by a demon."

"Then what do you call yourself?" Minko asked, remembering the stranger's voice. "Show me your hand and prove that you are my father. Then please explain to me how a hanyou like me was conceive from a non-youkai parent like you."

"Quite perceptive," the man said. He did as the priestess requested and walked onto the shore to run his long calloused fingers through his daughter's hair. The sensation was so foreign yet so familiar to Minko that she faltered for a moment and took a step back. The small smile that did manage to slip onto his face fell as the priestess did so and the man then explained, "It is true that I am your father and it is true you are half-human, but the other half is of my blood and therefor, not demon in the slightest."

"Oh?" Minko asked, fighting her sarcasm back. She held her spear tip in front of her father and sent traces of her spiritual energy to the blade. "My life blood or not, you have been gone from my life since I was a child and I cannot trust you. I do not even know your name."

Her father let out a chuckle then. His smile was both beautiful and terrifying, nothing warm like Amy's smile was. "I see that my sister has gotten to you. What a shame, and I curse Amaterasu for that. There is nothing warm about the Sun, only a cold and bitter grudge. Though I guess that she thinks no different from me."

"Who are you?" Minko spat, retaking her father's full attention. The man's smile fell and he stepped back onto the water's surface. He lifted his hand and with some invisible force pulled Minko forward with him. She shrieked and anticipated the freezing current to strike her skin, yet no sensation came. When she finally opened her eyes, the priestess's jaw dropped to find her feet balancing atop the water's surface just like her father.

"That is not my power but your own doing," he explained, sensing Minko's suspicion. "Since you do not yet understand, I have no choice but to explain it to you. Despite what you think, you know my name. You always have. There is no child who walks this earth that fails to know it, though they may never remember it as I only rise at the time of dreams. I am the dim light that lets you walk along the night. I control the water's rise and fall. My name, dear Midoriko, is Tsukuyomi."

Minko suddenly felt weak in the knees and she had to kneel down slowly to keep from collapsing. "I'm…" she started weakly.

"You are no half-demon but rather half-god," Tsukuyomi explained. "You were bred with a purpose. Your mother was a strong soul with a cursed fate and as a result that soul crystalized to the jewel you now wear around your neck. She could not fulfill the purpose her soul was born to do, that is why it is your duty as the new Midoriko. Gods can no longer interfere with mortal qualms. My brother proved that fact when he failed to slay the Great Snake properly."

"Great Snake?" Minko asked, alarms going off in her head. She could vaguely remember someone mention a great snake years before, but where…?

"A vile monster has fallen from the heavens and hides in the very depths of Time itself. It is waiting to strike, waiting to climb out of the void and into the present day in order to destroy you—its only threat. You will either accept your fate or run from it and attempt to choose a tainted love. When that happens, Midoriko, the very world you know will disappear before your eyes and you shall suffer a fate worse than your mother." Tsukuyomi stated. Minko struggled to find the words to say but just as she opened her mouth, Tsukuyomi averted his gaze to something behind her and declared, "It is the gods' will, there is nothing that can be done. Not even you can save her, Demon."

Minko jumped and turned to find Sesshomaru step out from the bushes, a dark expression on his face. "God or not," Sesshomaru declared, "That was not the will Lady Amaterasu sent us those years ago and I swear on my father's fang that I _will_ protect Minko from whatever curse you place on her."

"_Amaterasu_," Tsukuyomi spat, "do you really think one woman can stand against a table of gods? I don't care if she thinks herself our leader or not. And do you really have the gall to swear on a fang your father deprived you of?"

Without knowing why, that was the second red flag that rose in Minko's mind as a warning, the second one after Izayoi's pregnancy years ago. She knew in that moment that what Tsukuyomi said and the warning Auntie Amy had given were not warning nor statement. Oh no, they were much worse. They were prophecies. She would never admit it to Sesshomaru though, there was nothing he could do to save her, and knowing that fact would break his heart.

"I've nothing more to say to you, Midoriko," Tsukuyomi said, interrupting Minko's thoughts. "In time, my child, you will face Destiny, and no demon or god can stop Time's progression."

Just as Amy had disappeared, Tsukuyomi's voice faded and his light dimmed until he disappeared, leaving Minko and Sesshomaru alone in the darkness. The priestess looked down at the water and realized she was still standing on it, letting out a panicked scream, she tripped backwards, her feet sliding into the water as she fell, barely aimed towards the shore. Sesshomaru yelped and jumped forward to catch Minko and he wrapped her arms around her waist in a gentle hug as the woman turned her body towards him and began to cry.

* * *

She couldn't speak to him. She was terrified for she knew that if she did, even if Sesshomaru did accept her feelings, Minko was bound to lose her spiritual powers and she would be helpless and Sesshomaru was never one to waste his time.

The silence was agonizing. Sesshomaru wanted nothing more than to tell Minko that there was such a thing as love after all. That if it were the only trace of true love in this world, it was hiding in the most unlikely of places and his heart wasn't fit to keep it. He had to tell her that he loved her. And yet he couldn't. For almost a week, Minko didn't even look at him and it was unbearable. If things couldn't get any worse, rogue youkai were stirring and beginning to run rampant.

The jewel from Midoriko's soul was beginning to emit a terrifying aura and the pure energy that was once encased in it was beginning to become shrouded underneath a darker, much stronger power. And it was attracting the demons. Minko tried everything she could to purify the jewel, but each time she did, the gem just became more and more tainted, so finally, Minko gave up and let it run its own course. Sesshomaru almost considered telling her to get rid of the thing, but he knew full well (and the hanyou boys made a point to remind him) that the jewel was the only thing Minko had left of her mother. There were no heirlooms, no swords, not even a few final words that Minko could hold dear in her mother's memory.

But when Minko fell dangerously ill after an incident with a Water Dragon, Sesshomaru couldn't hold it in any longer. Minko was washing her face by a lake and had commented on the fowl taste of the water, warning everyone else to stay away from it.

"Man, I hope I didn't just poison myself," she half joked, ushering the boys away from it. Something was stale in the air that Sesshomaru didn't like, but when she made that comment, the daiyoukai jumped into full-alert.

"Stay behind me," he ordered, grabbing the priestess by the waist suddenly.

"Wha-?" she started to ask but, just as Sesshomaru predicted, upon sensing his alertness, the massive dragon emerged from the lake and let out an enraged roar, lunging its massive head and incredibly long neck towards the four. Sesshomaru fought it off with his claws and Minko wasted no time in charging on it. She leapt onto the dragon's head with her sword drawn. The dragon in turn let out a roar, covering her in its saliva and it took everything within the dog demon to keep from letting out a scream. To make things worse, as she dug her blade into the beast's head, a bit of its blood spattered on the side of her face before it was purified. Minko leapt back to the ground unknowingly and was about to resume the day as usual when Sesshomaru grabbed both Inuyasha and Takeru and pushed them behind him in a mad panic.

"Minko, stay back for now!" he ordered and received a glare from the priestess in turn.

"So I get covered in demon spit, big deal! It'll wash out, now stop acting like an idiot, Sesshomaru," Minko ordered. She took another step forward and paused, her body swaying slightly and Sesshomaru watched as the woman's face turned a dangerous shade of green. She covered her mouth and held her stomach, backing away from the others for a moment before asking, "What did I do?"

"You covered yourself in dragon spit," Sesshomaru answered, mimicking the priestess. "You'll be fine in a few days, just wash yourself before you get near us."

Minko tried to nod her head in understanding but she began coughing suddenly. Her coughing fit grew worse and worse until she collapsed on her knees and threw up blood and, and…

"Sea foam?" Minko wheezed in horror as she stared down at the mess in her hands. She wretched again and started gagging on bile, tears streaming down her face from pain while Sesshomaru knelt down beside her, panicked with no idea what to do. Sesshomaru had knew that Water Dragons' bodily fluids were mixed with pestilence, but demons and hanyou—especially one like Minko—shouldn't suffer from more than a stomach bug. Not unless…

His heart felt like knives beating in his chest as Sesshomaru leapt to his feet and grabbed hold of a stray tree branch. He dipped it in the water and stirred it, trying to grab hold of something. The stick caught what felt like the side of a fish and Sesshomaru pushed it to shore. All that surfaced were bones and the part of the stick that had been in the water was now charred.

"The dragon outlived the lake," Sesshomaru realized. Very seldom had the dog demon heard of Water Dragons living for so long that they poisoned the water in which they inhabited, killing everything that had been there before. And Minko drank the poison.

"Sesshomaru!" Takeru cried out. The daiyoukai spun around to find Inuyasha crying with Takeru kneeling over an unconscious Minko. Sesshomaru raced over to the three and examined the woman. It would make him sick as well, and Minko would kill him for it if she lived, but it didn't matter to Sesshomaru in that moment.

"Do not touch her," Sesshomaru ordered. Takeru fought back tears but took a step back. "Do you remember that herb garden we passed?"

"Yes sir," Takeru whimpered.

"Take Inuyasha and go there. Tell who ever owns the garden that we need a medley of Sinenso and whichever herb they use to cure stomach-poison. Trade the spices you bought yesterday for that. Inuyasha, I will take Minko to the closest stream. Use your nose to find me. Be quick!" Sesshomaru barely finished before Takeru and Inuyasha both leapt to their feet and took off. He just hoped that those little boys would make it in time.

Once they were gone, Sesshomaru scooped Minko into his arms and ran towards the closest source of running water. All he could find was a hot spring. It wasn't ideal in this situation, but it was the best he could do in an emergency.

"Se..ssho…maru…" Minko gasped, fighting to breathe. Sesshomaru set the priestess down by the hot spring, holding her up in a sitting position on his lap. "You'll…get sick…"

"Don't worry about me," Sesshomaru ordered. "I didn't drink poisoned water, I'll be fine after a few days. But first we have to wash the pestilence off you."

Minko barely had enough awareness to realize what that meant. Her eyes opened in a brief fury and she spat, "I am not taking my clothes off."

"I won't look, I promise," Sesshomaru swore. "If you don't bathe properly, you'll only get worse. Trust me, I've dealth with Water Dragon's poison before…never to this scale though."

"But you touched me," Minko noted. She and Sesshomaru both glanced down at his arms and haori. Both were now soaked in the pestilence from Minko's body. "Don't you…"

"I won't look if you don't," Sesshomaru said, trying to keep his face from heating up. Minko opened her mouth to say something smart back but started dry-heaving, her lips turning blue. Sesshomaru held her in his arms and tried his best to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach that was starting to rise. Minko let out a moan and leaned heavily against his chest, her body becoming more and more limp. "You have to stay awake, Minko. We have to get this off of you."

"Help me…" the priestess whimpered. "I can't…"

Whether she meant help as in saving her life or help with a bath, Sesshomaru didn't know, but he found himself apologizing over and over as he deroped Minko's barely unconscious body and propped her up in the small pool. Sesshomaru then plopped her clothes and his and slid in beside her, holding the woman up by the shoulders.

"Hot…" Minko whined, her voice barely audible in Sesshomaru's ears.

"I know," Sesshomaru said, letting out a small cough. If he fell ill… the daiyoukai shook the thought off and concentrated on keeping Minko conscious. When he felt Minko could hold herself up in the position he left her in, he turned to their clothes and pushed them into the water trying to clean them as fast as he could. He then tossed them out of the water, trying to get them into a hanging tree branch to dry (to his dismay, his haori fell back into the water, but by that point, Sesshomaru didn't care and just tossed it into the grass to deal with later).

Trying to coax Minko into dunking her head under the water to wash her hair without drowning proved to be an even more frightening task. She vomited blood twice on him before he could convince her to go under the water and when she did dunk her head in with him, he struggled getting her to emerge with him, and she started choking on water and coughing up bile when she came back out. Her clothes were mostly dry by the time he pulled her out of the water and Sesshomaru and by that point, Minko couldn't even lift her head, leaving the daiyoukai no choice but to dress her.

"I'm…gn'…kill…'ou…" she grumbled once Sesshomaru leaned her up against a tree. He slid his pants on as she did so and rolled his eyes.

"At least you still have a sense of humor," he noted and received a weak smile in return. Her cheeks were flushed and Sesshomaru placed a hand to her forehead. Her skin was so hot, the demon retracted his hand almost immediately.

"So cold…" Minko complained. Sesshomaru tried to press a cool cloth to her head but she only cried out, and hugged herself, desperately trying to feel warm.

"But you're burning up," Sesshomaru stated. Minko didn't seem to care at all about what her body temperature said and rolled towards the demon, trying to get warm. Not sure what else to do, Sesshomaru pulled the priestess to his chest and he leaned against a tree, listening to the woman's labored breathing and hoping to the gods that Inuyasha and Takeru would get back in time.

Minko fought for two days, going back and forth from alertness and appearing as a slightly weakened version of herself to states of complete delusion and hallucinations, writhing manically in his arms. Sometimes, all traces of Minko would appear lost as she grew more and more mad during those times before she stopped abruptly, falling limp against Sesshomaru's chest and enter a state of comatose. The first morning, she was herself the most, but as the day wore on, the manic episodes grew more and more frequent and lasted longer until she was screaming throughout the night. By the morning of the second day, she was unrecognizable and Sesshomaru could say little to bring her back. By late afternoon, the insanity had ceased but now she was all but conscious. She was recognizable when she would stir occasionally and either exchange a few words with Sesshomaru or vomit blood and bile before her eyes would close again, barely able to breathe. It was during those times of sleep that Sesshomaru was able to speak freely with her. He told her everything. He told her things she already knew, stories that she had already heard, but then he started telling her of his childhood before he met Minko. He told her every horrific detail leading up to his mother's departure.

"It was awful," Sesshomaru admitted at one point. "I know I said Izayoi was a rebound, but he started seeing her before Mother left. And she would let him go. She would ask him to leave even! But Father's not the only one to blame, she had her own string of affairs while he was away. At least my father was _loyal_ to Izayoi. She just never cared. She once told me that Father was delusional for seeking love—true love—from a mate. I don't think there was a loving bone in my Mother's body. She even refused to nurse me when I was a pup, just handed me over to one of the maids and went to meet one of the male servants in their quarters after I was born. I guess that's why I was so afraid to love someone, you know? I didn't even have friends before I met you, Minko. I didn't see the point. Why bother when mating was only for producing offspring or friendships were only to build political alliances and save your own skin, you know?"

He also told Minko about his birthright, Tetsusaiga. When he first returned with his father's sword at his hip, Minko had asked him about it, and he lied and said it was his father's fang. He confessed that lie and even told Minko his father's last words to him.

"The sword I own, it's called Tenseiga," he explained. "While Tetsusaiga can destroy a hundred demons in one stroke, Tenseiga does just the opposite. It can save a hundred lives with a single stroke. He changed his mind at the last minute and bequeathed Tetsusaiga to Inuyasha, hiding it away from me and gave me Tenseiga instead. I know, you probably think this is much better than Tetsusaiga but…Tenseiga is useless in battle. I don't even know how to use it…if you died Minko…I wouldn't even be able to bring you back." Sesshomaru choked on a lump in his throat at that. It was late at night and Minko hadn't woken up for hours. Her struggling heartbeat was the only sign of life she displayed. For the first time in his life, the daiyoukai was really and truly afraid. "Minko, I don't know what I would do if I lost you! If I had had the Tetsusaiga, I could have killed that Water Dragon from afar and you wouldn't have gotten sick—at least not _this _sick. Or better yet, the fang has an ability to sense danger and I could have stopped you from drinking the water. Minko, I'm so sorry, I—this is my fault. I act like I'm angry with my father for denying me my birthright, but I know that this is my doing. Before he died, he asked me if I had someone to protect. He asked me why I wanted the fang so badly…I made up some stupid lie and delusion for myself that my seeking power was for the soul purpose of conquest and surpassing him. I told him that I had no one to protect, that the Tetsusaiga was a sword for killing and that Tenseiga was useless. Only now do I realize that I was wrong…" Sesshomaru paused when he felt hot tears running down his face. He glanced around, not sensing anyone nearby. Inuyasha and Takeru would not make it. And so, the daiyoukai allowed himself to hold Minko close to his chest and sob for the second time in his life and said, "There was always someone to protect and I let you down, Minko! I'm so sorry…if I had just admitted it to myself and my father…Minko, I broke his heart when I said that! And I probably just cost you your life…and I—I am so sorry. Now you are going to die without ever knowing how much I loved you!"

"Well it's about time!"

Sesshomaru's back stiffened and his entire body tensed as he sobered up and turned his head towards Inuyasha who stood with his hands on his hips grinning wildly. That little brat! Well, at least Sesshomaru had stopped crying.

"What are you doing here?" he spat. Inuyasha's face fell at that.

"I followed your scent!" he explained. "And I found you. Aren't you proud of me?"

Sesshomaru made the mistake of avoiding the question by asking, "Where is Takeru?"

The cat answered his question almost immediately as he came spilling out of the bushes in a made sprint holding a canister of boiled herbs in his hand. "Inuyasha! You can't just leave me, I don't smell like you do!"

The trio wasted no time in trying to get the first sips of medicine down Minko's throat. It took several minutes, but color returned to her cheeks and her eyes fluttered open as she began coughing uncontrollably. Sesshomaru let out a sigh of relief and glanced down at the boys next to him. Takeru was engrossed in greeting his elder sister back from the dead as he began crying and hugging her while she attempted sitting up. Sesshomaru allowed himself a chuckle but his smile quickly fell when he saw the forlorn expression on Inuyasha's face. He didn't realize what was wrong at first, but suddenly the daiyoukai was taken back to a young pup trying desperately to win his parents' approval but was seldom awarded. A pup who later grew up to alienate himself from his mother and break his father's heart. Remembering the few occasions InuTaisho would praise him, Sesshomaru found himself kneeling down and placing a firm hand on Inuyasha's head, ruffling his hair as he did so.

"Good job, Little Brother," Sesshomaru said, tasting the words on his tongue. "You did me proud. And you saved Minko's life."

Inuyasha's ears flicked as the boy bounced and looked up, his grin stretching from ear to ear. "You really think so?" he asked.

"I wouldn't praise you if it weren't with reason," Sesshomaru said, mimicking his father. Then Inuyasha did something the daiyoukai never expected. The little boy lunged forward and threw his arms around his elder brother's neck. Sesshomaru sat there for a moment, dazed and not knowing how to react. But slowly, slowly he wrapped his arms around Inuyasha and held him close. Sesshomaru closed his eyes and sighed. Perhaps this is what it meant to feel loved by your family.

Of course, as Minko started to recover, it was Sesshomaru's turn to get sick and he spent three days fighting to hold down any sort of food. All of which, Inuyasha and Takeru spent reminding Sesshomaru, "you weren't supposed to touch her! Water Dragon fluid is covered in pestilence! Blah blah blah blah blah!"

The day Minko started moving around again, Sesshomaru spent with his head between his knees. He was resting by a tree with his head in his hands and completely miserable when the priestess walked over to him and sat down.

"You okay?" she asked, scooting next to him. "I assume that you aren't contagious."

"I'll be fine," Sesshomaru hiccupped. "And no."

Minko glanced down at her feet, sliding them along the grass for a moment before she looked up at him and said, "Hey Sesshomaru? Um…thank you…for everything. You saved my life."

"It wasn't me," Sesshomaru admitted. "Takeru and Inuyasha were the ones who found the herb garden and brought back the antidote."

"Yes but," Minko began. A blush ran up her neck and darkened her cheeks as she struggled to find he words, and Sesshomaru interrupted her by placing a hand on her forehead.

"You don't have a fever again, do you?" he asked. Minko swatted his hand away in haste at first, but then paused and hesitantly took it back in hers.

"Sorry," she muttered. "And no, I just…I mean, you were the one who told them where to go, and you've been working with Inuyasha and Takeru both on honing their demonic senses. Thanks to you, Takeru can hear a pin drop twenty miles a way and Inuyasha can sniff out just about anything."

"'Just about' being the key word," Sesshomaru stated, the instructor in him coming through, "they still have some work to do before they can manage on their own."

"Regardless, Sesshomaru, you saved my life and…I'm grateful," Minko said.

"Don't be," the daiyoukai replied. Guilt welled up in his chest as he thought of his birthright (or lack thereof) and what had happened to Minko. "This is all my fault."

He barely looked up from the corner of his eye to see the distraught look on Minko's face as she fought for the words to say. He expected something along the lines of, "It's not your fault, you saved my life!" or "Oh, Sesshomaru…" or some sort of fluffed up praise she was so could at coming up with to make you feel better, but what came out of her mouth both shocked him and made him feel worse for a brief moment.

"Why do you say that?" she asked. "Is it because of your father and Tetsusaiga?"

Sesshomaru jumped to alertness so fast his stomach flopped and he had to turn his head away an heave before saying anything else.

"How much did you hear?" he asked, too shocked to worry about what his confessions would lead to.

"Well, that's also why I wanted to thank you," Minko admitted, her face flushed. She looked away as she said, "I think I heard pretty much all of it. Your voice kept me awake, and listening to your stories, the good and the bad, I think that's what kept me alive. And also…what you shared with me…even if I was unconscious, it really means a lot to me that you would open up to me like that."

"Yes, but how much did you hear?" Sesshomaru asked again. Oh no, if she heard what he thought she heard.

Minko fought down a pointed glare in his direction and answered, "Well, for starters, I don't think you let your father down like you say you did. You were angry with him and that is understandable. He was always boasting about you, especially after an argument with him about Izayoi."

"Minko, if you're just trying to make me feel better, this Sesshomaru needs no consolidation…"

"Do you know that you speak in third person whenever you get nervous or don't want to talk?" Minko pointed out, fighting a bemused smile. Sesshomaru looked away as his face heated up and Minko let out a slight giggle and continued, "I didn't realize that until today but anyway, I'm serious, Sesshomaru. He would always walk out of the room raving about you. He would say, 'that boy is ready to compete for dominance at such a young age! He'll make a finer Demon Lord than me someday and it shouldn't take much for him to surpass me!'"

Minko deepened the tone of her voice in an attempt to imitate InuTaisho, but broke out into a fit of laughter as she finished her imitation. Sesshomaru found himself chuckling at that as well. It sounded nothing like his voice, but her choice of words and mannerisms were almost spot on. The daiyoukai was starting to relax when Minko suddenly placed her hand on top of his.

"Also I…" Minko started, looking back at the ground. Her voice shook slightly and her hand trembled as she said, "about the last thing you said, I—"

"Oh, no, you heard that didn't you," Sesshomaru groaned. "Look, I didn't really mean—"

"Sesshomaru, I'm in love with you!" Minko stuttered out as quickly as she could before the daiyoukai could take his words back. She squeezed his hand tighter as the words came out and she closed her eyes, her entire form tense as if she wanted to shrink away. Sesshomaru just stared at her with amazement.

"Y-You do?" was all he could say.

"I know you probably didn't mean it, and I know the whole 'priestess-demon' thing doesn't really work, and…I know I run the risk of using my powers, but I just can't hold it in anymore, I love you, and I don't care what happens to me or my spiritual energy because of it," Minko stated. Somewhere in the daze she put him in, the 'no spiritual powers' alarm went off in his head.

"Why would you lose your abilities?" he asked, completely dumbfounded.

Minko fought back tears as she explained, "A priestess…typically people think they have to be maidens but that is not entirely true. You see, our powers comes from a mixture between a connection with the heavens and clairvoyance which we are born with and our love or desire to protect others. If our hearts lose focus on protecting our people and fall in love with a single man, there is no room for our love of the world that can channel our spiritual energy."

At first, Sesshomaru couldn't see what was wrong with that idea and said, "Well, didn't you always want to be a normal woman?"

"I did, yes," Minko said sadly, and Sesshomaru couldn't help but notice her use of the past tense. "But Sesshomaru…the life of a normal human has no place with someone as strong as you. I would only be in the way."

"But you aren't human, Minko, you're hanyou!" Sesshomaru protested. "Better yet, you're half-god-!"

The daiyoukai held his breath after he let that one slip. Ever since he appeared with that strange prophecy, even speaking of the Shinto gods struck fear in Minko. The priestess trembled and shut her eyes, forcing herself to answer the demon: "And my abilities as a hanyou are directly related to my spiritual energy. Even if I kept some of it, I would be better off living in a village. Even if your feelings for me were returned, it wouldn't work. I can accept that, Sesshomaru. I just wanted you to know. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned it."

The priestess stood and began walking away when one final thought came to the dog demon's mind. It was a wild gamble, and he wasn't sure he truly believed in these things yet or not, but there was no denying that he loved Minko any longer and he wasn't going to let her go then. With the wildest determination he had ever felt burning in his chest, Sesshomaru rose to his feet and followed the priestess. He placed a hand on her shoulder to turn her back around, looked intently into her eyes and stated, "There is a way I could share my powers with you, should what you say be true."

Minko blinked several times, her face paling and the corners of her mouth dancing as if they weren't sure whether to believe the news or not. "Wh-what?"

Sesshomaru took a deep breath and willed himself to say, "I don't believe that someone with as big a heart as yours couldn't have room for her world _and_ one insignificant man. But even if your powers were taken away, one: you wouldn't be defenseless. You're one of the strongest people I know and would get along just fine traveling with me. And two: there would be a way for me to share my demonic powers with you. If we were connected somehow, like through this type of bond."

The woman's eyes sparkled and she took a step closer to Sesshomaru, almost eager to hear more. "What kind of bond?" she asked.

"Well," Sesshomaru began, fighting the flush forming on his face, "for example, if we were…mates…"

"Oh," Minko's expression faltered slightly and her face turned bright red. "Sesshomaru, I'm not sure I'm ready for-for _that_. I mean, what about courting and-?"

"Minko, I don't mean that type of mating," Sesshomaru groaned and the priestess let out a sigh of relief. "There is a special ceremony, an exchange of words that bind mates together. They say that there is nothing stronger than a mated pair. You would have my strength and I would have yours, we'd share some form of telepathic bond—a weak one, I wouldn't be able to read your mind or anything—but we could sense where the other was and you would live for as long as I do."

"That sounds…beautiful," Minko said after a long pause. The word choice was certainly not one the daiyoukai expected but before he could say anything, she placed her hand on his chest and it gradually slid up to his neck. Without realizing it, Sesshomaru slowly placed his hands along her waist and pulled her close. "Sesshomaru, I—I love you…"

The Lord of the West pressed his forehead against his soulmate's and took in a deep breath, enjoying her scent of cinnamon and wildflowers. He allowed a small smile to trace along his lips and he whispered, "I love you too."

And because they were smug little brats, Inuyasha and Takeru just _had_ to ruin the moment!

"Are they kissing yet?"

"I can't tell, I wonder when they'll have pups!"

"Takeru?"

"Yeah?"

"How are babies made?"

"I dunno, hey Minko? How are babies made?"

"You're timing could be a lot better!" Sesshomaru roared, baring his teeth. The boys jumped but didn't run away until he took a step towards them and let out a low growl. Minko in turn let out the sweetest giggle and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Come now, Sesshomaru, they're just being kids is all," she said. Sesshomaru glanced up at her and let out a heavy sigh, standing up straight. The two stared at the boys who were now laughing wildly and running around trying to push each other in the hot spring. Sesshomaru started to scold them to be more careful, but when he saw the smile on Minko's face he held back.

"What are you thinking?" he asked her.

"Oh, just…us. All of us, I mean," she answered. The wind blew softly and she pushed some hair out of her face. "It's funny, how we all came into each other's lives. We're almost like a family. A twisted hanyou family, I'll admit but…it's fun to think about. You have Takeru and Inuyasha who are more like siblings than anyone else is. They play, they fight, and they look out for each other."

"And they say the stupidest things at the worst times possible," Sesshomaru grumbled, but received a light shove from the priestess in response.

"They're boys, Sesshomaru," Minko reminded him before continuing, "Then you have me…well, I don't do much but you need at least one female to keep tabs on everyone. And then there's you: the big mighty protector and the boys' favorite superhero. You yell at them and scare them, but you also praise them and give them something to look up to. Just like a father should."

Sesshomaru had to sit on that thought for a moment.

A father…

"More like a constantly annoyed older brother," Sesshomaru settled with. That at least sounded better. "But I don't think you give yourself enough credit. You're the one they always go running to for help or a hug…or to just tattle on me. You give them a lot of guidance and you make a great mother. But in our situation we can say you're the patient older sister."

Minko let out the brightest laugh at that. "I'll take it," she giggled. She then glanced up at Sesshomaru and smiled, "and then there's us: the soul-mates…or…mates to-be at least."

"Indeed," the daiyoukai agreed. Slowly, the two's hands clasped together and Minko leaned against Sesshomaru letting out a content sigh.

That moment, as they watched the two boys play, was one of that happiest moments Sesshomaru had ever had. Looking back, he only wished he could have remembered that moment sooner for when darker days came and his heart was broken beyond consolidation, had he remembered the happiness he once knew, his life, and his relationship with Inuyasha just might have been salvaged.

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**A/N:** Before anyone sends me reviews saying, "Sesshomaru hates Inuyasha, he would never help him!" A: My story. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha will get to their canon grudge matches when I get to the plot of the canon manga/anime, just not yet! B: For Inuyasha and Sesshomaru to have known each other as well as they did in the beginning of the series they had to have had some sort of relationship that went awry for some reason. Perhaps they got along until Kikyo came into play. Perhaps Sesshomaru didn't find out about Tetsusaiga's hiding place right away. Perhaps Inuyasha said something stupid and Sesshomaru was PMSing that day so they got into a girl fight and wrote horrible things about each other in Regina George's notebook. We just don't know, now do we! This is my interpretation of what happened (with my OC of course) so please refrain from grumpy reviews on that topic. :) But please review! I'm okay with grumpy reviews as long as there is reason and logic behind it, but the supportive ones make my day a little happier! :)


	5. The Angel's Fairytale

Well, this is definitely the longest chapter yet! It's not as action-packed as I initially planned, but my word it is intense so hold on to something while you read it! Please review and tell me what you think! :)

Also, I failed to mention in previous chapters that Takeru has a tail...it's black like his hair so just keep that in mind. Also, Takeru's hair is pretty short...like normal present-day boy hair only fluffy...sorry for not mentioning that before, I just felt it was important to tell you now before you get to the part where I mention the little guy's tail and everyone goes "WTF WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?" :P

Anyway, onwards and upwards!

ENJOI

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_There is a story that is told to children, a sort of fairtytale about a young maiden that became a goddess and her guardian angel. No one knows where this tale began or where the first storytellers learned it, but it has become one that parents tell their children and children tell each other, and it begins as such:_

_During the time of magic, there lived a maiden who traversed the earth without a place to call home or a soul to call friend. But every year when the night-lights glowed brightest, she met a fallen angel. It too was lost and lonely, looking for a place or a person to belong with. It was but a pup, abandoned by affection, but time passed and the maiden grew into a princess and the pup grew into a mighty wolf, both feared and deeply loved by those who followed them. Never could they forget, however, the loneliness they felt in their younger years and never could they forget the soul that saved them from such loneliness and abandonment. So each year, when the night-lights glowed brightest, the maiden would travel all over the country just to find the place where she first met her angel, and the angel would find her. _

_Time passed and they fell in love, though neither could admit it to the other. The maiden was now a princess and she was a pure heart. Should anything taint her, her kingdom would fall. The angel, having fallen to earth with no place to return to, considered himself tainted, and was fearful of the princess's love for seeing her happiness meant more to him than her returned affections. Yet still their love grew, it grew until neither soul could stand silence any longer, so then one day the gods came to them. _

"_I give you a son," the first god said to the maiden. Behind her waited a little boy, abandoned by his parents and longing for a home, just as the maiden had been. _

_She gladly took him into her arms and told the boy, "I am your mother."_

_The second god then turned to the angel and said, "You are fallen. However, I will grant you a son as well." The god then took the hand of a second little boy, whose mother had been slain just days before, and led him to the angel._

_The angel could not believe the grace the gods were giving him, yet still took the boy in his arms and said, "I am your father."_

"_Now raise them together," the gods ordered, then disappeared. _

_With their new family, the maiden and the wolf were both happy, yet still a sorrow lingered. A fear of unspoken words antagonized them with each passing day and they could not bring themselves to share their love. And so, the gods returned with a new plan._

_The first god approached the maiden and said, "You are a pure spirit and shall become a goddess."_

_The second god then said to the wolf, "you are a fallen soul and shall remain on earth."_

_Neither the princess nor the angel could bare the thought of being separated by their loved ones, however the angel found himself unable to protest as he was merely a pup who fell from heaven. The princess, who was a pure soul, however, spoke against her gods and pleaded, "Please, oh holy ones, you cannot separate me from this mighty wolf. He is my guardian angel and I love him!"_

_The gods then turned to the wolf, awaiting a response so the wolf said, "She is a princess and deserves far better than I. Yet I love her with all my heart and her happiness is all that matters so if she wishes to stay by my side then her will is mine."_

_The gods, pleased with their work, said, "May your love be a blessed one and may the heavens shine down upon your souls."_

_With that, the gods graced the princess with holy powers and gave the angel wings to fly once more. For a time, they were happy. However, there was one demon that hated the princess for her blood and wished to tear the lovers apart. It began with a tremble. The monster came at night and robbed the angel of his wings and the mighty wolf woke up one morning to discover that he was dying of poison. The princess wouldn't allow herself to mourn, she was determined to save her guardian angel. But then the demon approached her._

"_Exchange your soul so that the wolf may live!" it declared. _

_The offer was tempting, but the princess knew her angel well. The wolf would not forgive his maiden if she died for his life so she said, "I will not give my life to a monster such as you. I shall give you my powers in exchange for his life."_

_So the demon, knowing the princess full well, accepted that and stole her powers. When the maiden returned, she was elated to find her angel in good health. But the demon came again. The following night, illness took hold of their sons. When this happened, the maiden knew who to find._

"_Exchange your life so that your sons may live!" the demon declared once more._

"_I cannot give my life or my angel and my boys will have nothing to live for!" the maiden wept, knowing that if she died, her angel would never forgive her._

"_Then give up your kingdom and allow another to assume the throne!" it ordered. And so, the maiden did. When she returned home, her boys were healthy, but a mysterious spell overtook her people and the maiden was forever shunned by those who once loved her. And so, the maiden was alone once more, but she was no longer lonely. She had her angel and their sons. And they were happy. _

_But the demon was persistent. _

_He took the sun and the moon and threatened the gods, "give up your lives so that the earth may thrive!"_

_The gods knew full well that giving their lives was the same as losing the sun and moon so they said, "We cannot die for that would mean little more than you keeping the sun and moon."_

"_Then destroy the maiden so that the world may live!" the demon declared. The gods fought for thousands of years, but the demon proved more powerful and so the gods had no other choice but to do as it said._

_But the gods were clever, they were. The maiden may not have been a princess and she may have given up her holy powers for love, but she was still a pure soul. There was no one on this earth that the demon feared more than the maiden herself for she had lifeblood purer than the gods themselves. And so, they placed a spell on her. _

"_We have cursed her so she may not fight back," the first god said._

"_We will not destroy her, but you may do the deed yourself," the second god stated. _

_And so, the demon did. He hunted down the maiden and her faithful wolf. They fought him long and hard, but the maiden for some reason felt weak, and when she wasn't looking, he took her son first. Out of anguish, the maiden fought back without reason and so the demon stole her away too, and she vanished out of thin air. Our of fear, the angel's son ran, leaving the wolf alone and broken. His world was gone. His maiden was gone. There was nothing left to live for. _

_The wolf had every intention of ending his life that night, but before he could, a god appeared before him. The gods were clever they were, the spell they placed on the maiden was no curse, but rather a transformation, and she turned into a ghost that wandered the stars. _

"_We shall be together again," the maiden whispered. "The gods have a plan for us, and they will let us be together once more. But we must wait, my love. The beast wishes to destroy me, so we must wait until a time when the world forgets our names, forgets what our names even mean. We must wait until a time when we become so much more than a mere moniker when only we can utter the other person's identity. Only then will my spell be broken."_

_With that, the maiden disappeared, wandering the stars alone. She wept, hoping she would see her angel again one day. The maiden became a goddess, but each passing day the goddess wept for her lover, praying for his happiness without her. But that angel was faithful and he did just as she told him. He waited for his maiden to come back in human form during a time when their names and their story was all but forgotten. He waited, and then one day he saw her again, but she had no memory of who she was or where she came from. She didn't even know her angel and she called herself Midoriko now. But the wolf did not fret. He knew she would come back to him some day. She was alive and well, and though she may have forgotten his name, he would never forget hers. So he stayed by her side, looking after her wherever she went, and he waited. Hopeful for the sun to rise anew, knowing the gods had blessed them._

_A true guardian angel._

_The maiden's true name has since been forgotten, but wolf is still known today as Seishiro._

* * *

The sun danced along her eyelids, gently urging her to wake up, but Minko fought nature's calling and buried her face into Sesshomaru's collar. The night before…it had been so full of bliss and love—true love—that Minko did not want it to end. They had been courting for a year (though Minko was ready to become his mate, Sesshomaru still insisted on showing some manners, plus they each had to figure out away to explain the situation to any passing bystanders who questioned their authority if they were pledged to a supposed enemy) and as always, returned to Minko's home village at the start of Obon festival. The priestess initially had no intention of returning home for a human festival and was perfectly content in following her demon lord fiancé's schedule, but Sesshomaru had plans of his own…with the help of two hanyou boys of course.

Even though they were courting, Minko still had yet to lose her spiritual powers (and according to the priestess, priestesses were hardly allowed to even kiss without risking it) so the two had attempted moving forward in their relationship. Granted, it was hard to do while raising two boys, but as they drew nearer to the village, Sesshomaru snuck away with Takeru one night while Minko was still asleep and the two ventured off to the river to make preparations. The priestess then awoke the following morning to find a new yukata lying next to her.

"What is this?" she asked, eyeing the pink dress and matching green obi. The priestess had never seen anything as elegant before in her life, with the exception of princess Izayoi's wardrobe of course.

"I thought a new uniform was better suited to a maiden as fair as you for the occasion," Sesshomaru stated. Even after hours of memorization and practicing flattery with nothing but a sleeping pup as an audience, the daiyoukai's face still flushed and he found himself looking away. Minko merely giggled in response.

"My, such a gentleman! But what is the occasion?" she then asked.

"Do you really not know where you are? Look around," Sesshomaru stated. Minko looked up and around at her surroundings, and her face flushed when she realized where she was.

"I've never come from this way before, but Sesshomaru—" Minko started, her face turning pinker than her yukata, but couldn't find herself to finish and simply asked through a choked voice, "Why?"

Sesshomaru merely chuckled to himself and helped the woman to her feet. She glanced down at the folded dress and held it to her chest. For some reason, she almost looked sad. Sesshomaru lifted his hand and touched it to her cheek, wiping a stray tear from her eye with a clawed thumb and answered, "Now, I thought this would make you happy. What's wrong?"

"Oh it's nothing," Minko shook her head, wiping her other eye. "It's just that no one has ever done anything like this for me before…I mean, this sounds silly but Obon has always held a special meaning to me. It's where I met you after all."

"I know," the daiyoukai said, subconsciously pushing a few stray hairs behind her ear. He then pulled her into a gentle hug and whispered, "and Happy Birthday."

At that, Minko let out a shriek and asked, "How'd you know that?"

"Takeru told me," Sesshomaru shrugged. Minko glanced over at the kitten who in turn smiled at her, guilty as charged. She then glared at Sesshomaru who said, "And I put him up to it…"

Minko shook her head, horribly confused, "but how did you figure it out?"

"I had a hunch," he said. "Inuyasha was born on a new moon and he changes into a human on _every_ new moon. I figured that the reason you changed during Obon was because you were born on Obon."

"Wait, really? That's how it works?" Minko asked in near disbelief. The daiyoukai simply rolled his eyes and pulled her back into a hug. The priestess then let out a heavy sigh and wrapped her arms around him. She could have stayed there with her head on his chest for eternity, but alas, the dog had to move them along. By this time, Minko's home village was accustomed to their priestess with her hanyou children and her faithful daiyoukai companion so they welcomed them as always and the three days of Obon were full of more laughter and more joy than either one of the four had ever experienced in their lives until that point. On the third night, just before the start of Toro Nagashi, Sesshomaru left Takeru to keep an eye on Inuyasha before he led Minko up the hill to their place by the river, each with a lantern. With the village out of sight and only the stars on their side, the two lovers sat and waited for the lanterns to pass before they lit theirs.

"Sesshomaru," Minko moaned. She had been sitting on his lap and the daiyoukai pressed a gentle kiss on her neck. His hand slid up to her breast and the priestess only let out a small gasp before she sunk into his form. "Sesshomaru," she said again, this time a little more alert. "Thank you."

Sesshomaru hugged Minko tighter and inhaled her sweet scent of cinnamon and wild flowers before asking, "It was the least I could do. Besides, I'm selfish, coming here was partially for my benefit…"

"No," Minko said. "I mean thank you…for loving me."

The daiyoukai sat in a daze for a moment. Even after all this time, she could still take his breath away and she could still render him speechless. Before he could embarrass himself, however, small specks of light caught his eye. "The lanterns are starting," he said.

The two quickly got to their feet and lit their lanterns before praying and sending them down the river. As they let their beacons of light go, both of them glances up at the stars. Minko let out a sigh and out of instinct whispered, "I love you, Mother."

Sesshomaru smiled to himself, fighting a pang of guilt as he said, "You were right, Father. Forgive me for letting you down, but I have someone to protect now."

"I hope you don't mean me," Minko joked, giving him a teasing grin while entrancing the man with her ever-mysterious pale moon eyes.

"I have several people to protect," Sesshomaru then added. "Mainly two rambunctious boys. But tell Izayoi not to worry, Inuyasha's a good kid…even if he's annoying. And I'll always look after him, no matter what happens."

The daiyoukai let out a sigh, feeling at peace with his father for the first time since his death, when Minko's sniffle disrupted the silence. "Are you crying?"

"No!" the priestess snapped back. "That was just…really touching is all…"

"So you are crying," Sesshomaru chuckled. In all their time together, the only tears he had ever seen Minko shed were on the night of her mother's death all those years ago.

"Shut up!" the priestess shouted as she shoved the daiyoukai. Hard. So hard, in fact, that the demon lost his balance and fell into the river. Minko let out a shriek and covered her mouth. "Sorry!"

"I bet you are," the dog demon grumbled. He then looked up at Minko, whose eyes reflected the moon so well, he felt as if he were the ocean's tide being pulled to shore. Without a breath in his lungs, Sesshomaru asked, "Would you like to swim?"

Minko stared at Sesshomaru, horribly confused by the question, but she felt her face heat up when the demon started taking off his mokomoko and haori. "What are you doing?"

"Swimming," Sesshomaru answered curtly. Even in the moonlight, she could see the flush on his cheeks blending in with his facial markings. He then turned away and answered, "they're wet anyway."

The next thing she knew, her silver-haired companion was wading out in the water waste deep with nothing to cover him. The ends of his hair danced with the river current and before she realized it, Minko had undid her obi and allowed her yukata to slide off her shoulders. The priestess dove in head-first, swimming to where her demon waited. She resurfaced at his side, but tucked her knees in so only her head and shoulders came out the water. Between the water and the moonlight, Minko was amazed how each muscle in Sesshomaru's upper body laced together to form his lean yet defined figure. The wind blew gently and caught his silver hair and for a moment, Minko thought she was looking up at an angel.

Sesshomaru disrupted the priestess's thoughts suddenly, however, when he let in a sharp intake of breath and dove under the water before resurfacing with a series of loud splashes as he attempted to get his wet hair out of his face and crouched down to Minko's current height.

"Cold?" Minko asked, and it was all the daiyoukai to do to nod. Minko glanced away and said, "let me help," as she approached Sesshomaru. She opened his legs so she could press herself against the demon and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was brief, but oh so sweet, and it didn't take much for Sesshomaru to place his hand on her jaw and pull her close. They danced in the water until their heartbeats became one and only then did they return to shore in order to lose themselves in the purest of love. It was there, along the river's shoreline in a bed of white flowers and Sesshomaru's mokomoko did Minko wake up that morning.

She refused to wake up at first, but when the sun and her memory of two high-maintenance hanyou boys had other plans, Minko gave in and allowed herself to stretch before she tried stirring her lover. She shook him gently, but the stubborn dog merely rolled over on his side and pulled her half of the fluff out from underneath her. Minko was too in love with the man to be annoyed and so she gently rolled him back to his back only to receive a series of moans in protest. Minko then rested herself on top of him and laid a gentle kiss on Sesshomaru's forehead, right at the crescent marking. His eyes fluttered open at that moment, eyes bright and full of sunlight. He gave her a sleepy smile and muttered, "I take you as my mate…"

"And I take you as mine," Minko whispered back, thinking nothing of the phrase.

Sesshomaru, however, knew better and he shot up into alertness, causing the poor and confused priestess to fall backwards with a yelp. "No! No! I didn't mean like that!"

"You what?" Minko growled back. "So you don't want me as your mate?"

"What?" Sesshomaru gasped. "No! I do! I—uh…no! I do take you as my mate, it's just those words are part of the ceremony!"

"So?" Minko asked. "They're just words."

Sesshomaru was so engrossed in his flub that he ignored her statement and lifted her hair up to check behind her neck. When he saw it was bare, the demon sighed in relief before narrowing his eyes at her and said, "Just words? Just. Words? Oh, Minko, I forget you grew up human sometimes…"

"And what is that supposed to mean?" the priestess growled, crossing her arms. Sesshomaru cringed away from the look she gave him, knowing he had gotten himself into a serious amount of trouble.

"Those words…they're part of the ceremony. It's what forms the bond between us. If we say them too soon…well, I've heard some pretty awful stories about mating ceremonies going awry," Sesshomaru explained, stumbling over his words. If there was anyone on the world that could turn the Lord of the West into a nervous wreck, it was and always would be Priestess Midoriko, better known as Minko. Her angry expression was replaced with a blank, and horribly confused one so the demon elaborated, "what you need to understand is, that mating bonds are far more powerful than human marriages. As I said, once we are mated, you would live for as long as I do and we could exchange in our powers and our strength, but in order to get there and go through the mating ceremony, we have to endure a time of complete vulnerability and the whole heart must be invested in forming the bond. It sounds strange, but you'll understand. We have to be hidden away to do the ceremony as well. There have been instances when enemies have struck down a demon lord during his ceremony because that is the time when he is most vulnerable. Does that make sense?"

Minko nodded her head, trying to wrap her mind around the idea. Suddenly, she had a whole new understanding of the demon's hesitance towards mating. "That makes sense. Well, my love, shall we return to the boys?"

"You mean the hellbringers?" Sesshomaru groaned, looking up at the sun. "We've been gone so long, I'll be amazed if you still have a village left."

Minko shoved the daiyoukai lightly but couldn't contain her smile. She knew he was joking and she knew how much he loved the boys. They really did feel like their sons, and the happiest the couple ever felt was when the four of them traveled together. But happiness could only last for so long.

And it was a mistake to have not mated that fateful morning.

Their hearts synchronized with each other before either one could realize it in time, and it didn't take long for their scents to strengthen in their bodies' and souls' preparations to become mated, and other demons began discovering the future that was to come and quickly started challenging Sesshomaru for dominance on an almost daily basis. They didn't understand what was happening because what Sesshomaru didn't realize was that words were words. It was the meaning that was important, and whether or not they were barely conscious, each soul meant what they said that morning, and they started the process. And each day, they became more and more vulnerable until one day; Minko strayed too far from Sesshomaru.

They were being chased by a hoard of demons and Sesshomaru made the mistake of thinking all demons were simply after him. He had gotten so used to the jewel around Minko's neck that he failed to noticed the pulses it had been sending out, and now demons were seeking its power. Minko pulled away from Sesshomaru per his instructions and pulled Inuyasha onto her back while Takeru followed closely behind. Few demons stayed behind, but the rest began following _her_.

"Dammit!" Minko spat. She set Inuyasha down and ordered the two boys to run for cover and she spun around to attack them and two things happened.

The worst pain Minko had ever felt in her life consumed her chest and her spear sputtered out a spark of spiritual energy before the light died out and her blade dulled and was subsequently snapped in half.

"_The jewel! The jewel!_" one demon roared. Minko was in too much pain to comprehend what was happening and suddenly her vision doubled and she could have sworn she was in Sesshomaru's body right as the monstrous troll that stayed behind to fight him knocked the daiyoukai unconscious. She even felt the blow to her head and fell to her knees as she screamed.

"Sesshomaru!" she cried out weakly, but felt as if she was walking blind. She barely made out the boys' screams when the demons before her disintegrated suddenly from purification.

"I warned you, Midoriko," she heard her father's voice scold. Minko forced herself back into alertness and staggered to her feet to see Tsukuyomi standing with his arms crossed and his moonlit eyes glaring fiercely at her. Minko's body felt too numbed from pain to react with a smart remark so the god said, "I told you that you would lose your powers and you didn't even try to change your destiny. Now you are trapped between a mating process that can't move forward and you are defenseless against the Great Snake."

"What?" was all Minko could ask.

"We had no choice. I care not what Amaterasu tries to tell you, but your life will disappear, Midoriko. You can't even call yourself human any longer," Tsukuyomi explained. "Your mother's soul is even tainted. You will either come with me and become a god or suffer a fate much worse than the late priestess."

Minko held her collarbone tightly, trying rub the pain away, and for some reason she her lungs felt hollow as if she were running herself ragged. She was exhausted and could barely keep her eyes open, but the priestess forced herself to say, "I am no god, Father, and my name is not Midoriko! I don't care what you have to say to me, but I will not leave Takeru or Inuyasha, and I will not leave Sesshomaru!"

"I was afraid you would say that," Tsukuyomi sighed. He then glanced up at something behind Minko and the priestess turned to see Sesshomaru panting heavily. A waterfall of blood dribbled down the side of his face and soaked his brow. Minko's head began to ache just looking at his wound, but suddenly the pain in her chest ceased and was replaced by a warm yet hollow feeling, and a wave of exhaustion hit them both. "Three days time," Tsukuyomi said. "That is how long we can hold off the Great Snake. And I am sorry, to the both of you."

With that, the god disappeared leaving the priestess and the dog demon to stare at each other feeling horribly confused. Minko could barely stand, but Sesshomaru looked even worse. "Y-Your powers—" he panted. "I could feel it…they're…gone!"

Minko wanted to reply. She wanted to tell him that she expected it to happen sooner or later. She wanted to help alleviate any unnecessary guilt, but as she opened her mouth, the hollow feeling in her chest swallowed her whole being as the world tilted violently to the side and surrounded her in darkness.

* * *

"Sessh…ro…! Sesshomaru!" the cries were barely comprehendible, but Inuyasha's voice slowly came back into focus as the daiyoukai stirred. Every muscle, every bone in his body hurt as if he were burning at the stake. What was happening to him? Had he been poisoned? The hanyou's touch only worsened his pain, feeling like thousands of different needles piercing through his skin.

"Inu…yasha…" Sesshomaru croaked as he attempted to sit up. He swallowed in an attempt to clear his throat and then asked, "Are you alright?"

"You idiot! I thought you were gonna die!" the hanyou wailed in response. As Sesshomaru sat up, the little boy through his arms around him and sobbed. The daiyoukai sat in a daze for a moment before he could bring himself to wrap his arms around the crying boy, but even as he did, he had to muscle through this strange pain. He glanced around and saw Takeru first, the boy showed more restraint than Inuyasha, but he still hovered close with tears hanging from his green eyes. In front of him laid Minko, and as soon as the daiyoukai laid eyes on her, he felt his muscles relaxed and the pain slowly ebbed away. Minko's expression even seemed to relax, her face transforming from a pained cringe to on of a calm slumber. Moments later, blue eyes fluttered open and the priestess groaned.

"What. The hell," was all she could say as she sat up. Inuyasha only sobbed harder and transferred himself from the dog demon to the priestess and Takeru trembled slightly, looking to the ground causing Sesshomaru to instinctively place a hand on the boy's head and ruffle his hair. To the demon's surprise, Takeru broke down at his touch and curled himself up against Sesshomaru's side, allowing himself to shed only a few tears.

"Forgive us Takeru, Inuyasha, we did not mean to frighten you," Sesshomaru muttered uncomfortably.

"It's okay," both boys muttered before Inuyasha added, "just don't do that again, okay?"

Sesshomaru had full intentions to make that promise, but he faltered when he saw the paled expression on Minko's face as a response. "What's wrong?" he forced himself to ask.

"Sesshomaru…are you sure that nothing went differently from what we planned the morning after Obon?" the priestess brought herself to ask. Sesshomaru blindly nodded his head and shrugged, but was in shock when the woman whipped her head around and gave him the fiercest and angriest glare that he had ever seen from the kind priestess. Only her voice betrayed her to reveal that she was not angry, but frightened as she asked, "Are you sure?"

"What happened?" was all Sesshomaru could ask. Minko shut her eyes tightly and looked away, trying to hold herself together as she lifted Inuyasha off her lap in order to turn and grab the splintered remains of her spear. The demon's chest felt hollow.

Oh no…

Before he had time to panic, Sesshomaru grasped Minko's hand and pulled her to her feet. "Take my hand and look me in the eye," he ordered stiffly. Minko shook her head, her eyes filled with tears. She opened her mouth, struggling to speak, but the demon only pressed his hands on either side of her face and ordered, "Do as I say and look me in the eye!" When she did as she was told, Sesshomaru then said, "I take you as my mate."

"Sesshomaru, I don't think this will—"

"I take you as my mate," Sesshomaru said again, this time more urgently. Minko took a shaky breath and blinked her tears away.

"And I take you as mine," she finally said. Sesshomaru held his breath, trying to ignore the subtle pain that was rising up in his chest yet again. They had to finish this oath. They just had to.

"And for as long as I live, I shall be yours and—GAGH!" before he could finish, the demon was overcome by what felt as if he were being stabbed repeatedly by knives and he crumbled to his knees and vomited blood. Minko let out a scream and teetered, but managed to hold herself up. Her eyes were fearful and her lips turned blue. She bent over him and placed a hand on his back and the demon allowed himself to lean against the priestess. "Show me your neck," he finally panted.

Confused, Minko knelt down and lifted her hair as she turned her head away from him, and Sesshomaru had to hold his breath when he saw the mark that now rested on her neck. The mark of mating. It should have been a white crescent with three dots that was so faint it blended in with the skin. Instead, the mark on her neck was black and appeared bruised and depicted two serpents entwined together as if to kill one another. Sesshomaru panted heavily and his hand instinctively went to the back of his neck. The spot where his hand landed felt puffy and sore and was warm to the touch. This was awful. Someone—or rather, something—had cursed them, and now they were trapped in the midst of the mating ceremony with no way to revoke or complete it. Minko was defenseless and Sesshomaru was not much better off.

"Sesshomaru, what's wrong?" Minko asked with slight alarm in her eyes. Feeling nothing more than complete and utter anguish, Sesshomaru turned his head and lifted his hair so she could see the mark that was now on his neck. Minko's lips hung open and her hand slowly lifted to touch the mark. "What does this mean?"

"We're cursed," was all he could say. As he looked into her eyes, he felt his mind wander as if to fall into hers and for a moment, Minko's eyes flashed gold and her face paled. They had a bond that was just barely strong enough to share emotions with one another, but that was all they needed for Minko to understand just how dire the situation was.

The priestess's eyes immediately floated over to the two confused boys who waited expectantly to know what was wrong with their caretakers. "But that means…Sesshomaru, we can't…" but Minko couldn't finish. Her despair took over and she fell back to her knees and began sobbing. Takeru and Inuyasha then let out a yelp and ran to the woman's side, trying desperately to make her feel better, but the knowledge of what had to be done only upset her more.

Fighting back despair of his own, Sesshomaru took a hesitant breath and forced himself to say, "Boys, I need you to do something for me."

Two sets of eyes gazed up at him as Minko continued to sob.

"You have to stick together, no matter what happens. Look out for each other. But remember, we will always be there for you and we will always…" Sesshomaru's voice caught in his throat as he forced himself to continue and share the feelings that welled up with him for the first and last time in his life, "we will always love you. You boys are like our sons, you understand?"

"But Sesshomaru, why are you saying this?" Inuyasha asked, but Takeru was a bright boy and he knew where this was going.

"You have to run, keep running until you get to safety. Don't ever stop. You boys are strong, you will survive," Sesshomaru continued. "But the fact is that Minko and I cannot care for you any longer."

"What?" Inuyasha whimpered. He stared up at Sesshomaru with large eyes. "But Sesshomaru…but _Dad…_?"

"I am not our father, Inuyasha!" Sesshomaru roared suddenly. The goodbye was too hard to say, so he turned away, fought his tears and said, "I am not the man he was, and if you two are going to live you _have _to stay away from us. We don't want you to leave, but your safety is more important to us than anything else."

Inuyasha stamped his foot on the ground and tried to protest, but Minko mustered the courage to lift her head and plead, "Boys, listen to him. _Please_. We can't…we just can't protect you…I am so sorry!" and with that, Minko began sobbing all over again.

Takeru looked up at Sesshomaru and tried to side with Inuyasha, but the boy was maturing and he knew when to listen to his caregivers. He knew how hard it was for them to say goodbye. So, the kitten merely allowed a few tears, grabbed Inuyasha's sleeve and pulled him towards Minko, and Takeru then pressed a small kiss on Minko's cheek and said, "I love you, Momma."

Minko glanced up at Takeru, her eyes puffy and red in near disbelief. "Oh boys" she whimpered and she pulled the two into a tight embrace and whispered apologies over and over again. The sight was two much for the daiyoukai and he choked out a quiet sob as he turned away. And with more determination than he had ever felt before, Sesshomaru looked up at the sky with more resentment towards his father then he ever thought he would feel.

"This will only be temporary, but until we return you two have to survive on your own," Sesshomaru declared, and that was his second mistake. "Once I acquire my father's fang, I will be able to protect you all once again."

Minko stiffened with the boys in her arms and whipped her head up to face the daiyoukai shouting, "What?"

"Without the Tetsusaiga, we are defenseless," Sesshomaru explained. "If I can find it and wield it, no enemy would dare cross our path."

"If being the key word, Sesshomaru!" Minko pointed out. "Your father gave you Tenseiga for a reason, and you can't just go taking—" the priestess held her tongue after that. Between the terrible glare her faithful dog demon gave her and the knowledge that Inuyasha had yet to learn of his birthright keeping her from saying more.

"I am not taking anything more than what is necessary," Sesshomaru said evenly. Surely this was all but a test from his father. InuTaisho knew full well of his son's hidden affections for Minko and he withheld the Tetsusaiga from Sesshomaru in order to teach the demon the importance of compassion. That must be it. Relieved with his new realization, Sesshomaru knelt down and Minko released Inuyasha and Takeru from her embrace so the daiyoukai could say his own goodbye. He gave the boys a smile and reached out his arms to ruffle each boy's hair. He then smiled and said, "Can you two be strong for me?"

Takeru and Inuyasha exchanged glances before a small smile grew on each of their faces and they nodded, "yes sir!"

"Good, now stay safe for me," he said. "And go now."

Takeru took a hesitant step back, glancing at the priestess and daiyoukai before him one last time before he let out a small sob and turned away. Inuyasha was slower to leave and stared up at his elder brother for a long time before the little hanyou took a deep breath, fought down the flush on his cheeks and threw his arms around his brother for the last time before he turned back and ran off. When they were out of sight, Sesshomaru knelt down and placed a hand on Minko's shoulder, whispering, "It'll be alright."

The priestess trembled. There was something wrong about Sesshomaru's resolution, but he seemed so sure of himself, and he had never led her astray before. Minko looked Sesshomaru in the eyes and placed her hand on his cheek, stroking it gently as she said, "I know it will. Just promise me, _promise _me, Sesshomaru that no matter what happens you will just stay yourself. Don't try to be any more than the white haired dog who stayed by my side for all these years because who you are now is enough."

Sesshomaru didn't know exactly what his lover meant, but he could never bring himself to turn down a request from her so he nodded his head and kissed her gently before they rose to their feet and started off in the direction that Sesshomaru was certain would bring salvation: the hideout of the swordsmith Totosai.

* * *

So many things could have been done to prevent the coming tragedy.

The lovers could have pledged their mating on that fateful morning.

The daiyoukai could have admitted his love for a priestess to his father.

The priestess could have turned her back to her father's call and headed the Sun's warning.

The little boys could have followed their guardians' instructions and stayed in safekeeping.

The daiyoukai could have let his father's fang go and the priestess could have let go of her trust in her mighty dog for nothing more than a brief moment.

So many things could have done to prevent the coming tragedies. But Destiny had already set its course.

* * *

During their travels alone together, Minko noticed several changes. The first change she noticed was in the absence of her spiritual energy, the priestess discovered that her speed and physical strength had both increased so that she was almost up to par with Sesshomaru and could run faster and almost longer than the dog demon. Few people discovered her loss of miko powers and Minko was able to continue her work as if she were a demon slayer as opposed to being a priestess.

The second change she noticed was more frightening, however. Despite her physical abilities, the fact that the lovers were trapped in the middle of the mating ceremony, they were still vulnerable and were unable to separate from each other without suffering agonizing pain and there was nothing worse than being torn apart from each other in the midst of battle. The worst part of it meant that wherever Sesshomaru went, Minko followed, and the dog was so stubborn and dead set on finding Tetsusaiga and reuniting with Inuyasha and Takeru that the priestess could rarely convince the daiyoukai to go in any other direction without an argument that was possibly more agonizing than being separated for too long.

That brings us to the third, and worst change of all. During their travels to Master Totosai's and every obstacle they faced to get there, Minko couldn't help but notice Sesshomaru's drive to find Tetsusaiga slowly become an obsession. He never spoke of the sword except for in passing in the beginning, but even then, Minko could sense the growing obsession. She had learned to stay connected to the daiyoukai's feelings, though it seemed Sesshomaru had either not mastered or didn't bother to connect with Minko's, so her concern for the demon's wellbeing went unnoticed for the most part. But as they got closer to Totosai, Sesshomaru began speaking of Tetsusaiga more and more, almost raving about what he would do once he had it in his hands.

But when they reached the sword smith's home, that was when the real disaster began.

Not only did Totosai not know where Lord InuTaisho had hid the fang away, but the master revealed that the test Sesshomaru had dreamed up to learn about compassion never even existed. InuTaisho had no intention of giving Sesshomaru Tetsusaiga and he spoke almost as if the Western Lord's will had no concern for his eldest son, yet praised the infant Inuyasha as if he were a god. He almost seemed sour towards Sesshomaru, and that broke the daiyoukai's heart more than anything. Minko began to wonder if there was anyway to put her love back together.

Despite the news, Sesshomaru didn't seem to have any desire in letting his dream of Tetsusaiga go. Because Totosai let one word slip: "The black pearl which opens the gate to a valley of bones." Sesshomaru thought that the sword was hidden away in the netherworld and the black pearl the sword smith spoke of would take him to Tetsusaiga. From that day forward, Sesshomaru never spoke of his father in kindness again. What was worse, on occasion, only when the demon lost his temper, he would say something ill of Inuyasha for stealing his birthright as well.

But Sesshomaru wasn't entirely to blame. Watching her mate drive himself to madness without a second thought turned the priestess cold. The world appeared to lose almost all its beauty and I'm not even sure the two smiling hanyou boys could bring joy to her heart any longer. Tetsusaiga had started as a symbol of hope, but in reality it was merely a drug that poisoned the souls of two lovers and almost dissolved the red thread that bound them together.

The poison began to build, and it continued building until the worst tragedy of all happened. The night before, Minko had a dream. Amy appeared before her but was weeping.

"Please turn back, Midoriko!" she pleaded. "It's you're only chance!"

Minko was too hardened and too cold to listen to the last source of warmth she could ever find. She turned her back to a woman she would take years to realize was none other than Amaterasu and walked away. She was then approached by her father who only eyed her with contempt.

"This is your last chance, Midoriko," he warned. "There is no hope for the late Midoriko and her crystal soul, but your lover can still be saved. Take my place as Tsukuyomi and become a god, that is your only chance."

"I will not take your life, nor will I listen to you and I will certainly not abandon Sesshomaru!" Minko spat angrily before she turned her back to him. In the distance, she could hear Amaterasu's sobs. Tsukuyomi turned away as well and his form began to fade.

"The way you live now, you might as well be," her father stated scornfully before he vanished.

Minko felt hollow when she awakened and trudged slowly through the woods several paces behind Sesshomaru that day.

"Hurry, we are losing time," the demon called back to her when she grew to slow.

"We should turn back," Minko said suddenly. Her last wave of compassion before their world ended struck her so violently she almost broke down into tears. Regret for the sorrow she gave her aunt in the dream overwhelmed her. "It's not too late to do so."

"Turn back to where?" Sesshomaru snapped. "There is nothing left for us, Midoriko!"

And that was when Minko lost all hope. For a moment, the red thread that bound them started to repair and the real Sesshomaru, free of grudges and full of compassion returned. He was overwhelmed with guilt as he realized that the promise he had made years ago had finally been broken. "Minko, I didn't mean to—"

"You liar!" the priestess roared. She instinctively drew her sword and guarded herself against the demon. "You filthy, rotten liar! You promised you would always see me for me! What, am I just some servant to help you find a stolen treasure now?"

"That's not what I meant! I'm sorry!" Sesshomaru pleaded, but the priestess was too hardened from her lover's obsession to turn back and the demon was too engulfed by his new obsession to choose his love for his soul mate over his grudge against his father, and for as long as they existed in the same world, they were cursed to forever replace their love with despair. And that was just what the Great Snake was waiting for.

It started with a surge of pain. Her heart stopped in her chest and her lungs collapsed on themselves. Minko let out a scream of pain and fell to her knees. Sesshomaru staggered forward, feeling only a fraction of her pain and he ran to her. "Minko!" he cried out. But he skidded to a halt as he watched her shadow grow and the jewel around her neck turn to a deadly black. "Minko take that jewel off of you!"

Minko barely had enough consciousness and trust in her lover to rip the jewel off her neck and she was released from the pain, but that was the third mistake. The shadow only continued to grow before it leapt off the ground in the form of black smoke and surrounded the jewel. It didn't swallow it, but rather harnessed the dark power that had been growing inside of it for the one soul purpose of destroying its keeper. Then from the ground erupted eight monstrous heads with such force, the earth quaked.

"_Priestess Midoriko!_" the monster roared. "_You shall be the sacrifice that crowns me god of this world!"_

Minko stared up in horror at the beast, but a fragmented memory of her mother's tales of gods and legends flashed through her mind and she barely registered just who the beast was as she screamed, "Orochi!"

The beast chuckled as four of its heads stared down at the priestess, each licking their lips. "_I am impressed that you know my name, but that shall be the last thing that you utter from your lips!_"

Minko let out a scream and shielded her eyes, but, much like on the day the feudal lord Kaname attempted to take her life, the only sounds that registered were the beast's wales and five loud thuds that shook the earth. "_You bastard!_" Orochi cursed

The only response that came was a loud and thundering roar. Minko glanced up to find the stomach of a gigantic hound standing over her. She had rarely seen him change forms, and Minko's jaw dropped when she realized that Sesshomaru had hacked off four of the snake's heads. Before she realized it, Sesshomaru had snatched Minko up in his jaws by the collar of her haori and threw her in the air so she landed on his back before quickly taking off into a mad sprint.

"What the hell are you doing?" the priestess shrieked as she clung to the demon's fur for dear life.

Sesshomaru let out a sad moan that almost sounded as if he were saying, "I just want to protect you!"

When they had gained distance, Sesshomaru shrank and returned to his more human form before he collapsed, panting and holding Minko to his chest. The priestess shoved him and tried to stand, but was stopped by a sharp pain in her side so she asked, "Could you let me go?"

She didn't realize that Sesshomaru's labored breaths were because he was weeping until he whimpered, "You're hurt."

Minko looked down at the large gash that now tainted her haori crimson and began to shrug it off but when she looked back to the miserable demon, the ice that had trapped her heart finally melted and the priestess broke down into tears as she wrapped her arms around Sesshomaru's neck and they both sobbed. They couldn't fully understand why, but they held each other and cried for the love they almost lost, and for the love they wanted to reclaim but wouldn't be able to until Orochi swallowed them both. In the midst of despair, their love for each other coursed through their cursed and half-formed bond and they waited patiently for impending death.

The Great Snake was poorly named as he was actually no snake at all, but rather an eight-headed dragon with limps and wings to support him. The remaining four heads swerved and danced hungrily as the beast approached the lovers. He took his time, savoring the sight of his cowering dinner while he could. And that was _his_ first mistake.

Takeru and Inuyasha should have done as they were told. They should have stayed away and sought out safety. But the well-being of their caregivers was more important to them than anything else. And they followed. And they worked to build their own strength and speed. And when they sensed the first signs of danger of the approaching monster, they sought help. And through battle cries and a series of attacks, the little boys led Minko's home village to what they thought was triumph. They hacked off one of Orochi's heads after a series of bows and arrows followed by the resident priestess's holy arrow to purify the head. Minko and Sesshomaru looked up to see the writhing beast and were too in awe of the hope that came to be angry with their boys for disobeying their instructions.

And so they too fought. With hope restored and the desire to love defeating a desire to hate, they lopped off two more of Orochi's heads and the great beast collapsed to the ground. With swords in its hearts, he moaned and his last head closed its eyes in defeat.

The village cheered and embraced Minko and Sesshomaru. The lovers then embraced each other and exchanged a deep and passionate kiss—the first true kiss they had ever shared since they had been cursed, but also the last one they would ever share until Minko could turn her back on her angel and fulfill her destiny.

The boys then ran up and hugged their caretakers, thinking the worst was over. Sesshomrau began scolding the boys for misbehaving, but Minko merely smiled and shoved her mate lightly, knowing that it was because of them that they were still alive. They were all too caught up in the joy to think anything else could go wrong.

Takeru, however, was too wise for his age, and his second mistake came when he looked up to make sure the beast was still dead.

There was only a twitch of a finger. Just a twitch of the finger and a void pierced the air. It looked to be nothing more than wind twisting to form an air tunnel and was barely visible, but a cat's eye is as strong as a dog's nose and Takeru could see it clearly. Fear striking the pit of his stomach for some unknown reason, Takeru pointed at the void and asked, "Minko? What is that?"

Minko barely looked up in time to see Orochi's eyes open and spring back to life in one swift motion as he breathed smoke into the void before jumping in and disappearing. Just as he vanished, a mass of thread and glue sprang out of the void and lunged straight towards Minko, but Takeru panicked and jumped in front of the priestess.

"MOOOOM!" he whaled as the string wrapped around him and the glue took hold of him. Before anyone could react he was sucked into the void and vanished out of thin air. Minko whaled and had just enough time to grasp the little boys hand before he was yanked out of her grasp and never before had a mother's screams been louder or more full of despair and anguish as Minko's were that day when she fell to her knees.

"TAKERU!" Sesshomaru roared as the boy disappeared. He stared at the void which sucked him in, fury welling up inside of him. His anger only increased ten fold when he saw his sobbing mate kneeling on the ground.

And he lost all hope when he saw the trace amount of glue on Minko's hand from when she tried to grab the kitten.

Inuyasha ran up to Minko and tried to hug her, but as he started to take Minko's glue-covered hand, Sessomaru lunged forward and pulled Inuyasha away. "What are you doing, Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha whaled but before Sesshomaru could answer, the glue on Minko's hand came to life and sprung up in strands, wrapping itself around Minko's waist while other strands flew into the void.

"NO!" Sesshomaru roared as he grabbed hold of Minko, fighting the void's pull. But the void was too strong and Minko slipped from his arms, but before she could be pulled completely in, Sesshomaru reached out and grabbed the priestess's hand, fighting desperately to save her.

Minko cried but she looked into Sesshomaru's eyes and kept strong. In that moment, she realized her love for Sesshomaru was far greater than her selfishness to maintain a life that she was familiar with and she finally accepted the fate the gods had planned for her. She knew she had to turn her back and so she pleaded, "Sesshomaru, you have to let go!"

"I will not lose you!" the daiyoukai wept, but Minko merely smiled.

"It's okay, my love," she whispered. "You have to let me go. It's okay, but you can still live your life. You can still be happy with Inuyasha."

"But I am no father, Minko," Sesshomaru pleaded. "I am nothing. I can't continue without you!"

"But you can!" the priestess reassured. "Sesshomaru, you are so much more than you allow yourself to believe. You are Takeru's mighty dog demon. You are Inuyasha's heroic big brother. And you are my guardian angel. And I love you. I love you more than anything else in this world, and I am so grateful that I was deserving of your affection."

Sesshomaru didn't have near the resolve that Minko did in that same moment, and when all he could see was a hell that stood before him, the daiyoukai allowed himself to cry as he said, "I take you as my mate."

Minko's forced smile fell and she wept, "And I take you as mine."

"For as long as I live, I shall be yours and nothing, no hell or high waters will ever, _ever_ stand in the way of our love," Sesshomaru finished, squeezing Minko's hand tightly.

The priestess struggled to remember the rest of the recitation but she still found it within herself to say, "Nothing will stand in the way of our love for we are the missing half to each other's soul."

"Our hearts shall forever be entwined in the purest of bonds," Sesshomaru said.

"Forever," Minko finished. They looked into each other's eyes for a long moment and it wasn't until the strain of the glue against Minko's skin became painful did the priestess motion for her lover to let go.

Sesshomaru couldn't bring himself to let her die and he sobbed, "I love you."

"I love you too," Minko whispered and she let go of his wrist, allowing her hand to slide out of his. What neither soul realized, however, was that in the midst of their despair, when Minko's resolve and Sesshomaru's willingness to love showed through the darkness, the black bruises on their necks transformed into pale white crescents and three dots that blended in with the skin.

Minko's grasp slipped and she vanished into thin air. But when Sesshomaru's sorrow mistakenly turned into a fit of rage, as he screamed at his young brother, begging to know why they couldn't have just stayed safe, as Inuyasha mistook his brother's sorrow for hatred and ran away to the village where he would later meet a cursed priestess of his own, the two brother's severed their bond without any hope of even attempting to repair it.

* * *

Minko had disappeared, but she was not dead. The last thing she saw after Sesshomaru's desperate eyes was darkness and in a wave of nausea and a strike of pain, Minko felt her head jar as she landed on her back and her skull smacked against cold, hard ground. There was little light, but it was not death she was staring at. It was a…shed?

She heard someone moan beside her and realized that Takeru was lying right next to her. Minko started to roll over and tend to the kitten, but doors opened and light flooded her vision, blinding the priestess. The next thing she heard was a little girl's voice call out, "Mom! Someone's in here! And they're hurt!"

Before she knew what was happening, she and Takeru were being rushed to some massive white building called a "hospital" and strange men in abnormally white clothes were eyeing Minko and Takeru up and down. Minko began to panic and wonder if Takeru's hanyou appearance would frighten the humans, but when she turned to look the little boy over, her jaw dropped upon seeing his cat ears had disappeared and were replaced by normal, curved, human ears. His claws and tail were gone too! Aside from his still green eyes, the boy looked like a perfectly normal human.

The Higurashi family as they called themselves stayed with Minko and Takeru while they healed and it slowly began to dawn on Minko that she was in an entirely different world. What was worse was that after about a week the priestess realized that the world she was in was only just a few miles from where she and Takeru had been sucked into the void and they were stranded 1000 years after Minko's birth. It appeared as if almost all the demons of Japan had been wiped out in that time frame and the priestess wasn't sure that even Sesshomaru could live through a massacre such as that. Alone and with nowhere else to go, Minko and Takeru stayed with the Higurashi family while they acclimated to the new situation. Mrs. Higurashi didn't seem to buy Minko's story, but was concerned that neither child appeared to know anything of the world they were in. The elder man of the family was convinced that Minko and Takeru were gods sent down from the heavens to bless their family's shrine, but the little girl, Kagome, who seemed to be only a year younger than Takeru asked the most puzzling question of all.

"Minko?" she asked one day, "Are you the princess from Seishiro's tale?"

Minko had no idea what that meant and when she asked Mrs. Higurashi about it, the woman shrugged it off and kindly explained that Seishiro was a character from a fairytale that most kids were taught. Minko didn't hear the entire story, however, until she found herself enrolled in an establishment called "high school" several months later.

Evidently, basic survival and the ability to fight and know practical things such as "which food is edible and which herbs are effective" received little appreciation compared to reading, writing, and worse, a devil's invention called mathematics. Minko was grateful to be as literate as she was when she learned how important this new form of education was in order to survive in this new world, and she was even more relieved to have taught Takeru how to read and write. Because Takeru's age had slowed in recent years, although he was technically thirteen, he was physically and mentally still eight and was placed in "elementary school" in the same grade as Kagome, and he didn't have to concern himself with the horrors of placement testing. Minko, however, wasn't so lucky. Her literacy and reasoning skills were so high that she was accepted into a high school. Her knowledge of math, however was unfortunately dismal and she placed as a first years student with children who were just fifteen years old and worse, she was on what they called "academic probation" and had to meet with a tutor every week after school to bring her math skills up to par. Whatever that meant. At first, Minko dreaded what school would be like being several years older than her classmates, but when she put her school uniform on and combed her hair, she realized that she didn't look much older than the other students. So she just lied her way through course registration and claimed to be fifteen like all the other students.

The building was massive and Minko had never _ever_ seen so many people gathered in one place before. And she got lost. She wandered aimlessly through the halls, hardly able to understand her schedule and walked into the wrong class twice. Her day was saved, however, when she bumped into her savior of the day.

"Excuse me," the man said. His voice was…familiar. Minko bowed in apology and immediately began to walk past him when he took her arm and asked, "Pardon me, but are you a new student? I have never seen you before."

"Uh, yeah," Minko stuttered. She looked up at him and held her breath. The man had black hair that was kept short in the back but his bangs hung freely around his face and ears. He was pale in complexion with an angular jaw, but his dark brown eyes were soft and kind. They were sweet like chocolate (Minko had recently discovered what chocolate was and there was nothing that she enjoyed eating more than sweet chocolate). She was tall for a woman, but even still, the man's chin could rest at the top of her head. She guessed he was as tall as Sesshomaru—

Oh, how she missed Sesshomaru.

"Something wrong, ma'am?" the man asked. He searched the woman up and down and Minko couldn't help but notice a faint blush on his cheeks and an expression in his eyes that made it seem as if he knew her.

"Not at all," Minko lied, forcing her mate out of her mind. "I just can't find my class, that's all."

"Oh? Perhaps I can help," the man offered. He took Minko's schedule from her hand and a beautiful smile spread across his lips as he said, "Japanese Mythology with Nokazaki-sensei. It must be destiny. I am heading there myself. Will you do me the honor of accompanying me? Miss…" the man trailed off, waiting for Minko to fill the gap in his knowledge.

"Minko," the former priestess answered and received another beautiful smile in response.

"Minko, that's a beautiful name," he said. "Well, Minko, shall we be off? There is an empty seat in that class next to my good friend Shippo. He'll be more than happy to help you get acquainted with the class. It also appears all three of us have the same lunch period, so feel free to come find Shippo and I during that time."

"Th-thank you," Minko breathed. Aside from the Higurashis, who not only gave Minko a job at their shrine but helped her rent an apartment for her and Takeru to live, this mystery man was the first person to show any form of kindness to Minko since she was thrown into this world.

Nokazaki-sensei, however was not quite as kind.

"You were to report to my class fifteen minutes prior to class, Nekomata-san. Where have you been?" the teacher snapped. Minko held in a groan at that. She had never used surnames, so when the registrar asked Minko and Takeru for their full names, Takeru blindly shouted out, "Nekomata Takeru!" as a joke, but the registrar took him seriously and now Minko was living under the Nekomata residence. She went from the wife of a dog to being named after a two-tailed cat in fowl swoop and the former priestess wasn't too pleased with that fact.

"Forgive me, Sensei," Minko apologized, bowing as Mrs. Higurashi had taught her to, "I got lost and—"

"That is no excuse!" Nokazaki-sensei snapped. She then looked over at Minko's companion with much kinder eyes and said, "Taisho-san, thank you for escorting the new student to where she needed to be. You may be seated."

The man bowed and said, "Thank you, Sensei."

The class period was hell. The teacher decided to start the class talking about some fairytale that Minko had never heard of. She thought she would do great in Japanese Mythology (what, with being the daughter of the moon god and all) but the first mention of "Seishiro's Tale" sent all alarms off in Minko's head. So, being the idiot she was, the priestess raised her hand.

"Questions are not permitted in the middle of a lecture, Nekomata!" Nokazaki-sensei roared.

Minko cringed, but willed herself to ask anyway: "Forgive me, Sensei, but I am not familiar with Seishiro's tale. Could you please explain what it is about?"

"I do not have patience for sick jokes such as that," Nokazaki-sensei spat. "There isn't a child in this country who has not heard the story of the maiden princess and the angel Seishiro! If you truly are too ignorant to know that story then Hizeishin-san can inform you of the story and I shall see you at lunch where you will write an essay on Seishiro's Tale, am I understood?"

Minko sunk back in her seat but otherwise kept quiet, feeling the bemused stares heading her direction. As the teacher began speaking, the ginger-haired and green-eyed boy leaned over towards Minko and whispered, "I'm Shippo. Guess I'm your teacher for the class?"

"Guess so," Minko sighed. "So, what's this story about?"

"Do you seriously not know?" Shippo asked, his eyes wide in shock. When Minko gave him a blank expression in return, the boy's face flushed and he immediately wrote down the start of the story until he was yelled at by Nokazaki-sensei and then met with Minko after class to finish telling her the story. The priestess's head swam trying to put the pieces together and comprehend the story of a princess, gods, and some fallen angel that sounded strangely familiar but foreign to Minko all the same.

"That's complicated for a children's story," was her first response. Shippo merely shrugged.

"Yeah, but it's one kids hear all the time and it has a lot of meaning to it. I still can't believe you've never heard it before!" the curly-haired ginger guffawed.

"Well, I'm not exactly from here," Minko sighed. And that wasn't a total lie. But Minko glanced up at the odd coloring on the boy and added, "Though I take it you aren't either, are you?"

"Nah," Shippo grinned. "Though I've been here for so long I feel perfectly at home here."

Minko held in a sadistic laugh but sighed, "I don't think I'll ever feel like I belong."

"Give it time, Minko," Shippo assured. "You'll find your place."

"Doubt it," Minko said. "I left too many people behind. I lost the one person I couldn't live without. There's not a place I belong if he isn't here."

At that, Shippo was silent, but when Minko looked over at him she was almost insulted to see the grin on his face. "What's so funny?"

"It's nothing, sorry," Shippo chuckled. "I just think you're selling yourself out too early is all. Who knows? Maybe someone knew will come in to fill the void that your boyfriend left. Or maybe he'll come back to you someday."

"It's hard for someone to come back from the grave," Minko snarled back. "Besides, he wasn't my boyfriend…"

Oh no, Minko could hardly use the term to refer to Sesshomaru for he was so much more than that.

The day didn't get much better after that and it seemed as if all of her teachers hated Minko before she could even introduce herself. She at least had the number system for the classrooms figured out by the end and managed to find the classroom where she was supposed to meet her tutor. When she stepped into the room, however, she dropped her bag to the floor.

Shippo was lounging by the window complaining that Minko's chocolate-eyed savior of the day had to stay after to tutor a new student who failed the math placement test and when that little shit looked up to see who that student was he wound up on the floor laughing so hard he started crying, knowing full well he would become one of Minko's best friends and didn't bother to apologize for his rudeness. Minko had had a few classes with her now tutor and it didn't take long to realize that this man was at the top of their class. He was adored by teachers, knew just about everyone in the school by name, was popular with the ladies, and had looks that could challenge even Sesshomaru.

"Taisho-san?" Minko spat out in disbelief. Before any other thought could cross her mind, she asked, "Just who _are _you?"

The man's smile fell and he nearly tripped over a desk as his face flushed in utter embarrassment and he maneuvered clumsily to correct his mistake. "Oh! Please forgive me, Minko! It was quite rude of me not to introduce myself earlier. You may call me Seishiro."


	6. Who Are You?

This chapter. Is crack-tastic. I honestly don't know what I was on when I wrote this (possibly a small amount of Jesus overload...I know that sounds outright offensive so my apologies. But seriously, I've been working for the past week to write a sermon for my church's youth sunday. It's a big deal at my church and the graduated seniors give the sermon and basically reiterate their past 18 years of life and what they learned as far as faith is concerned and I finally finished it and got the okay from my youth director so my brain has been on the fritz XD) This is also a bit of a bridge chapter as I *sigh* continue to hype the thousands of plot twists up even further. Gawd, I hope this isn't a boring fic...well, anyway, please Review. And no flames, por favor!

Well, onwards and upwards!

ENJOI

* * *

**Five Years Later**

"Takeru? Takeru!" Minko shook the teenager lightly, but the cat merely let out a loud snore and buried his face even farther into his pillow. Minko let out a heavy sigh and stared at Takeru for a moment. He was always a stomach sleeper, but how in the world could he breath between the pillow and the massive amount of drool that flooded out of his mouth? Shrugging the thought off, the woman tried shaking Takeru awake yet again and said, "Get up, or you'll be late for school!"

"I don't wanna go!" Takeru growled. He rolled onto his back long enough to grab his blanket and pull it over his head and he curled up into a ball. Well someone was grumpy this morning…

"Oh come now, Takeru!" Minko said playfully. She sat down on his bed and gently tugged his blanket down so that two large cat ears and green and very annoyed cat eyes peaked out. Minko tugged on one ear gently and offered, "Kagome will be there today!"

"Fat chance," Takeru grumbled. "She's always sick with these strange illnesses that no one has ever heard of…and yesterday her friends were talking about some rebel boyfriend she recently met. If you ask me, she's just skipping school to go make out somewhere with the dropout…"

Minko narrowed her eyes at that. Somehow she doubted that a girl as sweet as that with a family like hers would _ever_ lead to Kagome even _associating_ with dropout kids. Jealousy. For sure. "Well," Minko said, struggling to think about the other girls Takeru flirted with. "What about Hotaru?"

The hanyou merely broke out into a sadistic laugh and spat out, "Like Seishiro would _ever_ let a guy near her! She's a total Daddy's Girl!"

"Hotaru's Seishiro's sister, Takeru," Minko felt a nerve snap at the sheer thought of Seishiro being old enough to be a father. Much less mature enough.

"Just like I'm your 'brother', Minks," Takeru rolled his eyes and the former priestess held her breath, but then the brat had the nerve to add, "Besides, Hotaru and Seishiro are nothing more than a rich girl and a rich boy living in a rich house off of money from their dead rich family!"

"Oh shut up and get dressed!" Minko snapped, ripping the blanket from Takeru's grasp with such force he fell out of bed. "And hide those ears, you're going to school! End of story!"

She didn't bother listening to what other smart-aleck remark Takeru was shouting back as she closed the door before she stomped into the living room and collapsed on the futon. As much as she hated it, Takeru had a point. Minko had been out of high school for over a year and she was still stuck cleaning the Higurashi shrine, waiting tables at diners, and doing other ridiculous and mundane tasks just to pick up some extra cash. Once dirt poor, always dirt poor. It must be the curse of a priestess.

But then there was Kagome who came from a long line of priests and priestesses and even appeared to have some untapped holy powers of her own and she was living it up! Then there was Seishiro who could put the Higurashi Shrine to shame with the massive temple he lived in. Taisho Seishiro graduated at the top of their high school class and had been accepted to University on scholarship in the medical institution's research ward. He was also Minko's best friend in this time period. He came from the Taisho clan, a wealthy and long line of samurai that dated back over the past five hundred years and were regarded as some of the most powerful warriors in all of Japan. Minko suspected there were at least some trace amounts of youkai in their families blood because there was no way a human could be as strong, fast, or just overall talented as Seishiro was. It didn't help that every girl on the planet seemed to love and adore him and that he seemed to have even more fighting experience than even Sesshomaru, and the last time Minko saw him, he was well over a hundred years old.

That was another thing about Seishiro, just thinking about the man brought back memories of her white-haired daiyoukai that would never ever see her again. Either that, or Seishiro's name would raise alarms in Minko's head. It was startling enough that there was a fairytale floating around featuring a protagonist with the same name. What was worse was that the princess in the story called herself Midoriko after she forgot her name and became human. Minko tried her hardest not to think of Seishiro when she didn't need to. Granted, he was lovely to be around and Minko and Takeru both enjoyed his company. Yet while she felt happiest spending time with Seishiro, Shippo, and Hotaru at their massive and empty estate, she felt loneliest whenever the human came to mind.

The other strange thing about Seishiro was where he lived. The Taisho clan had once been a large and wealthy family of samurai, but it seemed that they all died out in recent years (and by recent, Minko really meant the last century). The last remaining branch of the family was Seishiro, Hotaru, and their parents, but their parents died when Hotaru was a little girl and Seishiro inherited the estate and their money, leaving him to raise his younger sister. Shippo was evidently a close family friend began living with the two after the Taisho family had been killed. They even asked Minko and Takeru if they wanted to stay with them, but Minko refused. Seishiro still to this day would bring up the subject once in a while, begging Minko to at least accept his offer to help her pay for education. The former priestess had been accepted into University, however she was too poor and the school was far too expensive and she focused on putting her funds towards Takeru's education. He was much brighter and had time on his side. Surely he would flourish. But still, Seishiro insisted that Minko accept his help and go to college for it would set the example for Takeru. He then would pull the "I'm going to school for Hotaru" card and it drove Minko up a wall.

Then their was Taisho Hotaru. Hotaru was Minko's other piece of evidence that there was youkai in their family's blood. She looked perfectly normal. She had thick black hair that barely touched her shoulders and she was a pretty little but her eyes were a brilliant gold color that Minko had only ever seen on daiyoukai like…well, like Inuyasha and Sesshomaru…

Takeru always considered Kagome attractive and she was a close friend, but, even though he refused to admit it, he had the biggest crush on Hotaru. His face would turn red and he'd always stumble over his words when she was around and Takeru couldn't go five minutes without mentioning her name when she wasn't. If Minko didn't put the boy up to it soon, she had a horrible feeling that Shippo would start giving him dating advice.

Hizeishin Shippo, who referred to himself as Hizeishin when out with others besides Minko and Seishiro, also lived in the Taisho Temple with Hotaru and Seishiro. He was a curly-haired ginger with soft green eyes. Like Seishiro, Minko considered Shippo to be one of her best friends and the trio had been inseparable ever since Minko's first day of high school when she discovered who her tutor would be. Unlike the Taisho Clan, however, Minko knew for a fact that Shippo was a demon. She found out that fact by complete accident the day before their graduation. Seishiro was out with Hotaru helping her pick out a dress for her school's spring formal and Minko stopped by to drop something off, but nearly fell on her but when she discovered the large fox tail dancing behind the kitsune lazily. After accidentally mentioning his name, Shippo then went on to explain that he was just over five hundred years old and he even went so far as to say that he new Inuyasha when the fox was but a child.

"What?" Minko asked in disbelief. "Have you seen him around recently?" Minko had asked. At that, Shippo stared at the ground and heaved a heavy sigh.

"No, he and his wife died a few years ago," he said sadly. "There was an eight-headed snake demon that appeared suddenly. It came up in the mountains and was badly wounded when it did, so no civilians were hurt, thankfully. But Seishiro and I were both there and we lost Hotaru's parents in the disaster. I wouldn't say anything to Seishiro though, he doesn't like to talk about it. Makes him feel guilty that he couldn't save them."

The priestess nodded in understanding, feeling a pang of guilt at the fact that she knew the exact snake the kitsune was talking about. If she had just paid more attention and destroyed him when they had the chance…Inuyasha wouldn't have…

"But don't worry though," Shippo said suddenly, giving a playful smile. "He was an old hound by the time he died. He lived a good life and he was happy in the end."

"Really?" Minko asked, wiping her eyes once she realized she started crying.

"He mentioned you a lot," Shippo admitted. "I know I probably shouldn't know this, but you're just like the priestess Minko that Inuyasha talked about when I was a kid. He said that you raised him and that you helped him grow up into the man that he was. He also said that the eight-headed snake we encountered was the very one who he thought killed you when he was a kid. Do you mind if I ask what happened?"

After that, Minko couldn't hold the truth back any longer and she broke down into tears. Shippo sat by her side and comforted her and they waited for Seishiro to return before the three sat in the courtyard and Minko told her story. She told them of her mother, Midoriko, and her father, the Shinto god Tsukuyomi. She told them the year she was born and the life she grew up to know. She told them about the Feudal Lord Kaname and the Princess Izayoi, and she told them about the silver-haired daiyoukai who approached her one fateful night during Obon. She told them everything, from raising Takeru and Inuyasha to falling in love with Sesshomaru. The only thing she held back, however, was her name—her true name: Midoriko. From that day forward, Minko and Takeru confided in Shippo and Seishiro with everything. Shippo even taught Takeru how to hide or express his demonic traits at will while Seishiro trained both priestess and hanyou in the art of the sword.

Before Minko's thoughts could dwell any deeper, she was yanked back to the present as Takeru came thundering down the stairs, struggling to get his socks on and let out the most pained mix of a meow and a howl when he tripped and stepped on his tail before rolling the rest of the way down the stairs.

"OW! Dammit!" Takeru howled as he rolled on the ground and went from holding his head to licking the fur on his tail back into place. Ugh, he was so gross when he did that. He was a hanyou not a cat!

"Takeru," Minko sighed, helping the boy up then gestured to his ears and tail. "I told you to put those away."

"I hadn't gotten to that point yet, Sis," Takeru groaned. He then shook himself lightly before his tail shrunk into his body disappeared and his ears lost their fur and reshaped themselves to fit closer to the side of his head. He then went over to the fridge and pulled out the carton of milk…and began drinking straight from it.

"Takeru," Minko crossed her arms, but the hanyou merely shrugged.

"Oh, lighten up, Minks! We've lived together long enough, haven't we? I think you're letting the twenty-first century norms get to ya a little," Takeru joked and Minko fought to keep her face serious as she snarked back to him, but neither sibling could maintain their laughter and the next thing they knew, the two were wrestling with one another on the ground until the doorbell rang suddenly.

"That would be our ride," Minko grinned as she hopped to her feet. She quickly tied her hair back as she opened the door to see Seishiro in his suit and lab coat with Hotaru smiling at his side in her sailor-style school uniform.

"You're at the shop today?" Seishiro asked, noting Minko's khaki pants and green polo shirt. "But it's Thurdsay."

"Yeah, well, Kimiko called me last night and asked me to fill in and I can't resist the hours," Minko shrugged. Seishiro's lips turned downward and his eyebrows knitted together in a painfully familiar manner as worry flooded his expression.

"Minko, you'll run yourself ragged," he sighed, but as always, Minko brushed his concern off.

"I need the money, Seishiro," Minko pointed out. "I don't have the liberty or the means you do And don't pull the whole 'you can come live with us' pitch. You know I can't accept such an offer."

"Then at least let me cook for you tonight," Seishiro sighed. "I'll pick you up after work and you can come over and take a nap. Or something."

"Oh, alright," Minko sighed. She shook her head, trying to fight her smile. The samurai was such a gentleman! She ushered Takeru out the door, whose face flushed a bright pink when he accidentally bumped into Hotaru before she grabbed her apron and change of clothes for the diner.

* * *

Minko couldn't be more grateful that she took up Seishiro's dinner offer, but she felt like a complete idiot for denying his suggestion to wait outside for her to get off her second job and give her a ride. Minko had been a priestess. She was _the_ priestess of her time and she walked _everywhere_ but nothing in this world made her feet and her back hurt more than running around trying to bring orders out to customers in a timely manner while getting yelled at by them just because they were hungry and crabby and needed to take it out on someone and there was nothing worse than having to deal with her ungrateful and promiscuous boss at the electronics store! Why was she working at an electronics store in the first place? She was from the freaking feudal era! Oh yeah, they were the only ones hiring at the time!

The former priestess stalked through the courtyard of the estate/shrine and almost missed her friends completely as she passed the dojo (yes, they had a dojo).

"Long day?" Shippo asked nonchalantly, but he immediately regretted it when Minko's head swiveled and gave him the most horrifying look.

"I hate people," was all she could mutter. She never thought she would ever say this, but she missed being a priestess.

Seishiro heaved a sigh and said, "I told you you should have let me give you a ride."

"You're lucky she had the humility to even come over here," Shippo mumbled. Minko rolled her eyes and started to say something back, but she held her tongue when she looked up and saw the two messing with a toolbox and attempting to hang something on the wall.

"What are you guys doing?" Minko asked as she stepped into the dojo. On the bench in between her and the other two sat two katanas. One had a white hilt and was encased in a matching white scabbard with an intricate geometric design painted on it. The other was simpler in design and was protected by a black scabbard but the hilt had different colored ribbons woven throughout it. Minko picked it up and unsheathed it, testing its weight and examining its blade. It looked like…it looked exactly like…

"Where did you get this?" Minko breathed. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Shippo jump and turn away while Seishiro's face flushed.

"Oh that old thing?" Seishiro asked. "That sword—well, both of them actually are just heirlooms that have been passed down in the family. The blade on that one's been dulled and it was made specially so I'm not sure how to sharpen it."

Minko set the sword down and picked up the other blade. It was well maintained, but when Minko grabbed its hilt, the blade caught and no matter how she fumbled with it, it wouldn't come out. "And the blade on this one is stuck."

"Yeah, that one likes to catch. I can't really use either one of them so I figured I might as well hang them up in here instead of letting them sit uselessly in my closet," Seishiro shrugged.

"What are their names?" Minko asked suddenly. She had picked up the dull sword again, still entranced, and very suspicious of it.

"I'm sorry?" Seishiro asked. Horribly confused.

"The swords, what are their names?" Minko asked, but when she saw the blank expression on the human's face, she sighed and then said suddenly, "Does the word, 'Tenseiga' ring a bell to you?"

"Possibly," Seishiro responded in a low voice. "I take it that is what the sword in your hand is called?"

Minko nodded her head. "At least, this sword is a spitting image of Tenseiga. The blade is even dull like it was."

"May I inquire what the point of a dull sword is?" Seishiro asked, slightly confused. Minko glanced up at him and the man was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He stared curiously into Minko's eyes and his brown eyes sparkled as if something were hiding behind them, desperate to escape.

"It wasn't just that it was dull," Minko explained. "It couldn't cut. I know that sounds strange, but Tenseiga was not a sword for killing, but rather a sword for healing. It is said that the blade could bring a thousand lives back from the dead in one stroke."

"That is a powerful and a treasured blade indeed, I can see why you appear fond of it," Seishiro stated. He glared back at Shippo who was sputtering out a series of muffled giggles for what reason, Minko did not know. With one swift move of his foot, Seishiro pushed the rolley chair that was by him and kicked it hard so it crashed into Shippo's shins and caused the kitsune to flip over and fall onto his back.

"Hey!" Shippo whined, but Seishiro ignored him.

"I wonder, did Tenseiga belong to Sesshomaru perhaps?" Seishiro asked, and the sorrowful and despondent expression on Minko's face gave him the answer. Minko stared down at the sword in her hands and her fingers traced the blade delicately. It felt just like Tenseiga…but the odds of that happening were slim to none.

Unless…

"You said these were family heirlooms?" Minko asked.

"Yes," Seishiro nodded.

"Who gave these swords to you?"

"My father."

"You wouldn't by chance be part daiyoukai, would you?" Minko asked skeptically.

"And the penny drops," Shippo stated quickly, scampering out of the dojo to only god knows where. Seishiro paid no attention to the kitsune but his face flushed slightly.

"There is evidence in my bloodline that my ancestors were mated to demons for a time," Seishiro answered. "I'm sure you have seen Hotaru's eyes. I too express demonic attributes now and then, though I can't always control it."

The former priestess crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. Seishiro was human, but he looked so strikingly similar to Sesshomaru. He was even the same height. "Seishiro, could it be that you are-?"

"If you are thinking I am a descendent of Sesshomaru, then you are mistaken," Seishiro answered. "Forgive me, Minko, but I know my family tree well and there is no one with that name even mentioned. Besides, there isn't a person who exists in this world that he loves more than you, and I don't think he would ever betray you. That much I am sure."

That statement just sounded odd. Even for him. "Seishiro, who are you?" Minko found herself asking suddenly. Seishiro merely gave her a quizzical look as always.

"You've been asking me that a lot," he pointed out. Minko maintained a stern look in her eyes, demanding an answer and so the samurai sighed heavily. "I am Seishiro, Minko. No more, no less."

"Then why do you speak as if you know Sesshomaru so well?" Minko asked. Seishiro then blushed and looked away.

"Well, after all you've said about him, I can see how pure your love for him is and I can't imagine that after all the two of you have been through that he would just disregard you and move on to another woman," he answered in a low voice. "Besides, I even hope that…you find him again someday…"

"Seishiro…he died," Minko finally said. Her voice choked on the last word and she had to look away, but she was immediately brought out of her sorrow by the sudden outburst Seishiro had.

"And what proof of that do you have, Minko?" he demanded to know. He almost seemed angry.

"Well, do you see him anywhere? Do you see any demon _anywhere_ besides Shippo?" Minko asked. "This is the age of humans! Youkai have been run out of town!"

"But that doesn't mean they've all died," Seishiro declared. "They could be hiding in plane sight—_he_ could be hiding in plane sight just like Shippo is. You could have already run into him."

"Seishiro," Minko said suddenly. Okay, now he was spooking her out. "Please tell me who you are!"

"Why do you ask?" Seishiro replied. "I'm simply Seishiro. Nothing more."

"And that's what's so weird," Minko finally found it within herself to say. She had held her tongue for five years but she couldn't keep it to yourself any longer: "It can't be just a coincidence that you share the same name as the character from that fairytale."

"Similar to the coincidence that you share the name of the princess?" Seishiro asked suddenly and Minko could feel her heart fall out of her chest.

"Her name isn't Minko," was all she could get out.

"No. Her name is Midoriko," Seishiro stated and suddenly the priestess felt weak in her knees.

"Who told you that?" she spat back. "Was it Takeru?"

Suddenly, the samurai was retracting his words and he took a step back. "Forgive me, Minko, that was out of turn, I—"

"I've never told _anyone_ my name before," Minko said in a low voice. She approached the samurai slowly. In the feudal era, the people only knew her as Midoriko. In the 21st century, however, she only ever called herself Minko. No one, not even Takeru knew both of her names. "Who the hell are you?"

Before Seishiro could answer, the shrill ring of her cell phone pierced through the air like a thousand knives and Minko couldn't bring herself to continue the conversation after such an interruption so she gave up and answered the phone, "Hello?"

"Minks! Hey!" Takeru's laid-back voice called back. She could hear a crowd of girls chattering and possibly even swooning in the background. "Hotaru and I are going over to Kagome's house with the rest of her friends. Tell Seishiro not to plan on us for diner!"

"It's a school night," Minko mentioned, hoping the cat wasn't going to blow off his homework. Again.

"And this is a study group," Takeru said.

"Is this a study group or is this you trying to pick up a date?" Minko asked.

"Minko! Come on!" Takeru groaned. "I'm not like that, you know!"

Minko could help but giggle at that. "You don't realize it, but you are. Tell me, how many other boys are in your 'study group'?"

"Hojo," Takeru answered proudly. Minko rolled her eyes. Yeah, Hojo. The other popular guy at school. The one who was desperately chasing after Kagome's heart unknowing of this supposed "renegade" boyfriend that she had (if he even existed). Well, Hotaru was a serious student and a good girl and Kagome had missed so much school in the past year that all she did was study when she was well enough so between the two of them, Minko figured they would stay on track.

"Alright," Minko said. "Just don't stay out too late and be careful coming home.

"Or he can just come over here. We have extra rooms, you guys can spend the night," Seishiro offered kindly. Minko was about to protest but, cats could hear just about anything.

"I will certainly do that, Seishiro! Minko, you aren't saying no to that offer," Takeru ordered. "I'll see you later!"

Minko sighed and hung up the phone after that. She groaned and rubbed her temples. Oh, her head pounded within her skull…

Seishiro eyed her for but a moment before he held his arms out and offered, "Hug?"

"Please!" Minko whimpered before she wrapped her arms tightly around the samurai and buried her face in his chest. Once again, the only other person in existence who could give as strong and as comforting of hugs was Sesshomaru. "I'm sorry, Seishiro," Minko muttered. "I'm a wreck, I know."

"Don't apologize," Seishiro whispered, running his fingers through her hair as he rested his chin on the top of her head. "You've had a hard life, and I understand. I can only hope that you will find your mate again."

"Why do you put up with me?" Minko then asked. At the end of their final year in high school, Seishiro had mustered up the strength to ask Minko out on a date and the priestess just about had a meltdown before she broke out into hysterical sobs and ran away. The next day was when she found out about Shippo and subsequently told her story and instead of being devastated, Seishiro suddenly became elated by the mention of Sesshomaru's name. It was no secret that the samurai still had feelings for the priestess, but what Minko couldn't understand was why he continued to love and support her even when he knew it would never work out between them? It got to a point when Minko asked both Hotaru and Shippo if Seishiro was secretly hiding some sort of depression from Minko but both assured her that Seishiro couldn't be more content with his life.

And Seishiro, taking after his namesake so well, replied, "Because your happiness means more to me than a trivial relationship, Minko. You and Sesshomaru are soul mates, and I won't try to break a love that pure apart. I'll move on with my life once I know for sure that you can be happy."

"A fallen angel…" Minko sighed, but Seishiro let out a laugh.

"Hardly!" he chuckled. "It's like you said, I have demon in my blood."

Minko was too tired to argue her case and so she walked hand-in-hand with Seishiro into the main house and collapsed on the couch in the living room enjoying the smell of whatever it was that Shippo burnt and smiled when she heard the noises of the two boys arguing in the kitchen.

She didn't deserve friends as good as her kitsune and fallen angel…

And yet, the gods somehow knew that she did.

* * *

Hojo, Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi left early leaving Takeru alone with Kagome and Hotaru. The two felt bad for telling Seishiro and Minko not to wait up for them, but Mrs. Higurashi was ecstatic to have them over and Kagome definitely needed the company after she had been so sick for so long. They got a lot of studying done (man, when Kagome was stressed, she and Hotaru could really turn into drill-sergeants…) and they were enjoying a peaceful dinner when Takeru's life was thrust back into the feudal era. And just as he was starting to like modern Japan too…

Takeru sat beside Sota who was asking obsessively when Kagome's boyfriend was going to get back, but Kagome merely got more and more flustered with each question.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Kagome finally snapped as she rose to her feet. Hotaru giggled and rested her head in her hands, watching her friend with strangely distant and almost saddened eyes. And oh, how she looked beautiful that evening.

"Well, clearly he's someone important to you, Kagome. You never even told us what his name was," Hotaru said. Kagome's face flushed and she sat back down in a hurry, looking away.

"Well, it's no one special really…" the girl muttered.

"No one special?" Takeru asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. "Oh, please, I know that look from anywhere. My sister only ever gets that red when she's in _looooove_. Come on! Who's the lucky man, Kags?"

And as fate would have it, the sound of splintering wood practically blasted the cat demon's eardrums out as a deep yet shrill voice blared out, "KAGOME! You're late!"

Kagome practically screamed in frustration, completely disregarding her unknowing guests and groaned, "AGH! Why can't I just have one day to myself you selfish dog! SIT!"

As the voice approached, it suddenly let out a strangled scream before the sound of it crashing to the ground echoed into the kitchen, as if per Kagome's "sit" command. Moments later, a white-haired man with triangular ears standing on the top of his head poked through the window looking thouroughly pissed and shouted, "What the hell was that for, Kagome?"

Takeru shot up to his feet, the food falling from his mouth and without realizing it, he allowed his cat ears and tail to spring for and he squealed, "Inuyasha?"

He was much older than the last time they met, looked to be Takeru's age at this point, but really the white-haired hanyou just looked like a stretched-out version of his old self only with a deeper…and much louder voice. Inuyasha looked up and his eyes widened as he practically fell into the sink underneath the window he was sitting at, squealing, "Takeru! Y-You're alive!"

Kagome and her family practically fell to the floor as they all asked simultaneously, "You two know each other?"

But it was too late for answers. Takeru and Inuyasha were already reverting back to their old and childish ways which, really hadn't left them at all.

"Dude! You're old!"

"So are you! Why does your voice sound so ridiculous?"

"Well look whose talking, girly-hair!"

"Girly hair! At least I don't still suck on my tail like a pacifier!"

"You don't have a tail! And it's called _grooming_, Inuyasha!"

"You cats are disgusting…"

"And you dogs are weird!"

"Hey!"

"I win!"

"Do not!"

"Do too."

"INUYASHA SIT!" Kagome screamed suddenly and the beads around Inuyasha's neck glowed just as the hanyou barreled into the tile floor face first with such force he made a dent. Takeru's ears flattened against his head and he could feel his chest hollow out as he backed away from his childhood friend. Kagome…man, she was scary. "Will someone please explain to me how it is you two know each other?"

Inuyasha and Takeru both looked up at Kagome with such stupid expressions as they explained, "We grew up together."

Because that made total sense.

"But _how?_ Inuyasha's home is 500 years in the past!"

"Oh!" Takeru jumped, finally realizing the loophole in the logic. "Well, you see, Minko and I grew up oh about…what, 1000 years?"

"Yeah, give or take. It's been a little over 500 where I live," Inuyasha shrugged.

"Okay, so I was born about 1000 years ago and was abandoned by my parents. Then I met Minko and she looked after me and a little while later we met Inuyasha and he came with us. Well, then some bad things happened and this eight-headed monster snake attacked us and I got sucked into this void, and I guess Minko got caught in it too because the next thing we knew we were lying in your shed next to the well when you found us," Takeru explained. "Oh yeah! And Minko married Inuyasha's brother, Sesshomaru. That was part of the problem that happened because somebody cursed them in the middle of their wedding…well, it wasn't a wedding it was a mating ceremony. By the way, how is Sesshomaru? Uhh…Inuyasha? Kagome?"

Kagome stared at Takeru as if he had three heads. Her face was pale and she looked as if she were about to faint. Inuyasha, on the other hand just looked like he had been struck by a raw nerve. At the mention of Sesshomaru's name, a visible shiver ran up the hanyou's spine. Finally, Kagome spoke up, "Sesshomaru is Inuyasha's evil older brother. He's tried several times to take Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga and has even tried killing him for it."

"But I lopped his arm off for it, the bastard," Inuyasha snarled. He looked up to see an incredulous and miserably confused stare coming from Takeru so Inuyasha elaborated, "A lot has changed since you guys left. Sesshomaru wasn't the nice guy or mighty protector he made himself out to be when we were kids. He's nothing more than a sour asshole who's bitter because his daddy never loved him, that's all. Just do me a favor and tell me Minko found a better boyfriend. Or go get her one. Please."

Takeru shook his head rapidly. None of that sounded right nor did it make any sense. Sesshomaru? And Inuyasha? Hating each other? What had gone wrong with the world? Finally, however, Takeru was able to say weakly, "Well…there's this guy named Seishiro…he's Hotaru's—oh…"

At the mention of her name, all eyes turned to the pale-faced and horrified looking girl who sat quietly at the dinner table, waiting patiently for an explanation. When none came, the girl managed a polite smile and asked quietly, "So…I take it this is the boyfriend everyone's been talking about?"

Not sure what else to do, Takeru pulled out his phone and called his sister.

"Yes, Takeru?" Minko answered, chipper as ever. Whatever Seishiro had made, it must have been good. In the background he could hear Hizeishin fighting the samurai for what was left of the soba noodles and Minko said something to calm the two down, but the hanyou could pay no attention to background noise.

"Minks, you should come over here. Like, now," Takeru stated.

"But I'm eating dinner," Minko retorted.

"But you need to see this," Takeru said back. "Minko, just get over here."

"Minko?" Inuyasha asked, jumping to alertness. "Is Minko trapped in that little box or something?"

"No, dude, it's a phone," Takeru scoffed, forgetting his best friend was still trapped in the stone ages.

"I don't get it…"

"Takeru? Who's that? Are you still at the Higurashis?" Minko asked, her tone growing suspicious.

"Yeah," Takeru said. "I'm eating dinner with Hotaru and Kagome but…look, you just need to get over here. And bring Seishiro because I think he's going to have to run boyfriend approval—"

"Takeru!" Minko snapped. If Seishiro weren't nearby, she would have declared that he wasn't her boyfriend, and Takeru let out a heavy sigh.

"Either way, I think Hotaru needs a shock blanket because apparently time travel exists beyond what happened to us!"

"And what, dare I ask, does that mean?" Minko sighed. The poor woman, the cat could tell he was giving her a head ache, but it was all Takeru could do in that moment to plead.

"Just _please_ come over here, Minks, you need to see this," Takeru said. "And bring Seishiro.

"Alright," Minko sighed. "I'll be over in five."

* * *

"Well this is awkward," were the first words to be uttered after such a long pause. And such words came from none other than Seishiro who almost looked disgusted by Inuyasha's presence. Takeru stood to the samurai's right with his arms crossed, waiting expectantly for a response. Kagome merely looked from Inuyasha to Minko and back in a panic while Hotaru stood close to Seishiro on his left, inbetween him and Minko, cowering behind her brother, dreading what she could tell would come next.

Minko's response was almost expected. Her face paled and her eyes sparkled as if to shed tears, but the former priestess was so overcome by shock that her knees had buckled and she began swaying, struggling to hold her balance. Mrs. Higurashi was kind enough to give Minko a chair and she fell down into it, gripping the sides of it without uttering a word. Inuyasha only stood with wide eyes and a ridiculous expression on his face. He almost completely bypassed Seishiro's reaction and not giving the stranger—whose face seemed oddly familiar—a second glance.

"Where the hell have you been, you moron?" the hanyou finally spat out. "Do you have any idea what crap I've had to put up with from _your ex-boyfriend_ in the past 500 years?"

A nerve snapped within her head and Minko's entire body tensed, but she was still so in shock over seeing the long-lost boy that she fought the urge to smack the idiot upside the head. And here she thought he had grown up… "What do you mean ex-boyfriend? Inuyasha!"

But Inuyasha paid no mind to anything anyone had to say and he finally took notice of Seishiro and stomped up to the samurai, sniffing him over. Seishiro gulped hard and grimaced. Oh, this wasn't going to end well…

"Whose the new guy?" Inuyasha asked incredulously.

Kagome piped up suddenly with the biggest smile on her face as she introduced, "This is Seishiro! He's my friend Hotaru's older brother. He's also Minko's boyfriend."

Hotaru nodded her head in whole hearted agreement but Seishiro suddenly felt like the elephant in the room as all eyes went to him. There was no way that he was getting in the middle of this.

He and Minko's faces both turned bright red as they glanced at each other and began stuttering nervously, "Uh…no, I—uh, we're not—"

But Takeru finally lost his temper and leaped into Inuyasha's face screaming as he declared protectively, "HE'S NOT HER BOYFRIEND!"

Inuyasha then blinked several times in almost disappointment and groaned, "Why not? Minko! Move on already, Sesshomaru's an asshole!"

"He is not!" Takeru argued back in Minko's steed.

"Is too!"

"Dude, he's your _brother_!"

"Are you deaf, Takeru? He's crazy! Evil! He's an asshole!"

"Why?"

"He tried to take Tetsusaiga! And kill me!"

It was finally at that point when Minko just about lost it. She let out an agitated scream as she leapt to her feet yelling, "What is it with you men and your swords? My gods! What, do you compare the size of your blades like you compare dicks or something?"

"I only did that once!" Takeru shouted back in defense, his face flushed. Minko could feel her stomach churn at her brother's response. That…that wasn't what she was referring to…

"Okay, I think we all need to calm down," Seishiro finally said, stepping into the conversation. "It's obviously been a long day, and Minko, Inuyasha, it's been a while since you two have seen each other. Why not sit down and rest? Visit for a little while, how does that sound?"

Everyone just about sighed in defeat at the same moment and stared at Seishiro with the most exhausted expressions. Seishiro forced as innocent of a smile as possible and for a moment, everyone save Minko seemed to fall in love with his level-headedness. Mrs. Higurashi joined in with the proposal and announced, "I'll make us all some tea!"

Everyone then formed a line and began trudging into the living room to visit, but as they passed, Hotaru and Kagome both glanced up at Seishiro and whispered, "Why aren't you two dating yet?"

Seishiro raised an eyebrow and shrugged, feeling horribly confused and horribly guilty that he was starting to get in the middle of Minko's relationship. Takeru shot the two girls a glare at their remark and stomped out of the room without saying a word. The cat adored Seishiro and looked up to him, but in his mind, there was no one in the world worthy of Minko's heart other than Inuyasha's elder brother. No one.

Inuyasha paused and sniffed Seishiro over as he passed, his golden eyes narrow and suspicious. "Do I know you?" he asked.

Seishiro sighed. If anyone were to figure out the truth, it would be him. "You will," was all Seishiro could bring himself to say.

"You stink..." was Inuyasha's only response. He began to continue forward but paused and spun on his heel to add, "But you are a thousand times better than Sesshomaru."

The remark caused Seishiro to nearly jump out of his skin and on instinct he leaned forward to spit out, "You stupid ha-!" but the samurai caught his tongue and groaned, "I give up…"

As Inuyasha sauntered off, Seishiro looked up to see that Minko was still sitting in her chair with her face buried in her hands. His protectiveness getting the better of him, Seishiro knelt down beside the woman and placed a hand on her back. "I am sorry, Minko."

The woman shook her head and rubbed her eyes as she lifted it before looking over at him with a tearful expression. "This day is just getting so…I mean, first you—no…I mean to say…if Inuyasha is here, then does that mean that Sesshomaru is…?" Minko stuttered but she couldn't bring herself to answer the question. Seishiro, however, knew the answer. The youkai's name had come up so frequently in conversation the past few days, and now with Inuyasha making his first appearance, Seishiro could not withhold anything from his beloved any longer. It was his duty to make sure Minko would lead a happy life and the gods had already set fate in motion yet again.

"You know full well that it does, Minko," Seishiro said with a gentle voice. "You've always known, haven't you?"

Minko sighed heavily and shook her head. "But the way you were talking earlier…you knew this was going to happen. I swear, Seishiro, if you are some sort of prophet—"

"I am anything but!" the samurai chuckled. "And before you say it, I am no angel either. I'm simply your friend and I just want you to find your happiness first and your soul mate second."

"You still sound like a prophet," Minko groaned. She stood up and walked into the other room but Seishiro lagged behind. He was no prophet, but he had seen Minko's future. And if he truly were an angel, he would have been able to save the priestess.

"Is everything alright, Seishiro?" Mrs. Higurashi asked. She looked up at him with a concerned expression on her face as she carried a tray of tea. With nothing else in his power to do, Seishiro faked a smile and nodded his head, giving his first true lie in several years.

"Yes, Higurashi-san. Everything is well, thank you," he answered. If he knew what was to come, he might have not actually been lying. He stalked into the living room to see Minko sitting between the two boys she had raised, engaged in joyful conversation. Occasionally, Inuyasha and Takeru got out of hand, but Kagome and Minko both seemed to have a firm grip on both of them and Hotaru couldn't contain herself and let out the sweetest giggles that Seishiro had ever heard since her parents died. The samurai sighed. It was a good thing Shippo stayed behind. Seishiro was lucky that Inuyasha hadn't met Seishiro yet in his time, but he would have recognized the kitsune on instant. Not only that, but Seishiro wasn't sure that the kit would be able to contain his grief over the tragedy that they both knew was coming. Not Inuyasha's impending death. Oh no, that was hundreds of years away for him. The tragedy that he spoke of, however, was much worse for it was the will of the gods and it was now Seishiro's job to see it through, even though he wanted nothing more than to just swoop everyone under his protection and hold them close to avoid losing anyone that he loved ever again.

He just wanted to see Minko's smile remain…

* * *

A/N: I should also mention that in this story, Kagome does know modern era Shippo. However, she has not yet realized that Shippo is actually Shippo because as I said (though probably not too clearly) everyone besides Minko, Takeru, Seishiro, and Hotaru know him solely by his (fake) surname: Hizeishin. Because those four know that fact, they also only ever refer to Shippo to anyone else as Hizeishin.

P.S. have fun trying to guess who Seishiro is. This will either be blatantly obvious or will throw everyone for a loop. But I'll give you a hint: he's probably not someone you'll initially expect and his identity/purpose has a great deal to do with what the shinto gods (primarily Amaterasu) have in mind...that's all I'm telling you. The rest will come as the story progresses :D


	7. The Void in Time

I'm baaaaaaaack! Also, my apologies for spotty updates. if you guys thought I was bad about updating consistently before, I'm about to drive you insane. You see...college kind of happened and I'm kind of a Pre-Physical Therapy/Health Science Major, and it's kind of my first year and I'm struggling with the whole adjustment/being away from home issue...and I'm also apart of a lot of clubs now while trying to keep my grades up (I need a 3.5 to keep my seat in grad school and chemistry is kicking my ass. That's some scary shit right there!) so fanfics and writing in general for me is really taking a backseat and is only for some destressing time (if I ever have time) so...yeah...I'm sorry...

Anyway, this chapter may seem kind of boring (and reeeeeaally confusing. I couldn't make it any more clear, I'm sorry) but it explains a lot of important concepts so just bare with me. Shippo makes a reference to this, but if you can't figure out what the hell is going on, just picture Dr. Who...you know, wibbly wobbly timey whimey! And then it all makes perfect sense! I think. Oi...it'll make a lot more sense as the story progresses, I PROMISE.

Anyway, onwards and upwards!

ENJOI

* * *

Hotaru didn't take the encounter with the news of the feudal era hiding out in Kagome's back yard nearly as well as Seishiro had originally thought she did. She was very quiet at first and let all parties who were directly involved with the issue figure everything out first. She even let Seishiro work his way through the confusion before she even made a peep. She then even proceeded to—as what Takeru described—run "boyfriend approval" on Inuyasha in the rest of their friends' place. She even engaged in friendly conversation with him! And she seemed completely normal on the way home. But oh. Oh dear, as soon as Minko and Takeru retired to the guest rooms did she let Seishiro know what she really thought of the situation.

And, unfortunately for him, Hotaru had inherited the entirety of her father's famous temper and she was almost exactly like her mother who, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't much better when she was put-off by something.

Good God, put-off didn't even describe Hotaru when she was finally alone with her brother.

He knew it was going to be bad when she started stomping through the house and grumbling to herself as she started looking for her glass to fill with water before Takeru was out of sight. She could open up to Minko, but the gods forbid Takeru see Hotaru as anything but her best! And then she started dropping things. And then she started yelling at inanimate objects.

Minko glanced nervously at Seishiro who let out a heavy sigh and shuttered. For his sake, he was glad Minko agreed to stay the night. She was much better at calming Hotaru down than Seishiro ever was when the girl got like this. The woman gave him a kind smile and placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Shall we clear out of the room before she starts throwing out insults?"

Seishiro heaved yet another heavy sigh and said, "And subsequently embarrasses herself?" the samurai paused and shot a glance over at Takeru, knowing that if Hotaru even said one snide remark in his direction, his little girl would be utterly humiliated, "I think that's a very kind offer, Minko…"

"Come on, Takeru, it's a school night," Minko grabbed the hanyou by his hear and dragged him out of the kitchen. "I don't care if it is a sleep over you're going straight to bed!"

"Minks, I'm not a kid!" Takeru groaned.

"Yeah, well, you're not a cat either and yet you still tear up my furniture," Minko pointed out.

"It's one futon. And it was an accident!" Takeru retorted.

"And the kitchen table?"

"That came with the apartment!"

"And now I'm paying for it. Bed. _Now_."

"Oh, you're using your priestess voice on me," Takeru cringed, half-joking. He then gave a snarky grin and saluted Minko before he scurried up the stairs to one of the guest rooms. Minko rolled her eyes and chuckled before she patted Seishiro's shoulder again.

"Text me when the coast is clear," she said, glancing over at a still fuming Hotaru. "I'll come down later to see what's going on."

Seishiro nodded but held back a frown. The samurai had a feeling that this particular issue would be the only one that Hotaru _wouldn't_ share with Minko. He was starting to regret the stories he told the girl when she was little. Sure, back then they were just stories, but now that everything was coming full circle…

"It's getting late, Hotaru," Seishiro finally mustered the strength to say and he forced himself to continue, knowing full well the jab that was going to come right back at him. "You should be getting to bed—"

"You aren't my dad, Seishiro!" Hotaru screamed back at him, completely oblivious to the consequences of her temper. "And you aren't my brother!"

If he hadn't known the pain the girl was holding back Seishiro might have yelled right back at her or even allowed his feelings to have been hurt. Instead, the samurai walked up to Hotaru and placed a comforting hand on her head, ruffling her hair. "I know," he said, forcing a sad smile. "But I love you all the more, Hotaru."

"Oh, shut up!" Hotaru growled back, swiping his hand away. "Stop treating me like a little kid!"

That was something that Seishiro couldn't help but find hilarious. "Sweetheart, when you're like me, you see _everyone_ as a child."

"Well at least pretend to be normal, Seishiro," the girl grumbled as she pushed past him and headed to her room. Oh boy, she was being difficult. Guess it was time for a direct approach…

"Hotaru," Seishiro began. "I know that Inuyasha reminds you of what happened on that day—"

"Oh, he doesn't just remind me!" Hotaru snapped back. "He died, Seishiro! He, and my Mom, and—and—! Dammit!" By this point Hotaru had made it to her room and she flipped over her desk chair, but before she could do any actual damage, the samurai stepped in and pulled her into a tight hug.

"I know it's hard to watch," Seishiro whispered. "But remember that Inuyasha is five hundred years younger than he was the last time you saw him. He has his whole life ahead of him. And remember what your father told you before he died. You will live a long, peaceful, and happy life. Hotaru, your parents entrusted me to protect you and I will do just that. I know I'm not your father—I'm nothing like him. I'm not even your brother like the papers say I am, but I still love you and I won't let you suffer. Do you understand?"

Hotaru's arms were crossed tightly and she didn't say a word. She seemed determined not to give in to the samurai's gentle touch, but the hot tears that soaked through his cotton shirt told Seishiro that he had gotten through Hotaru all the same. Seishiro hugged Hotaru tighter and ran his fingers through her short hair, smiling as he whispered, "Minko is much better at these pep talks than I am. Do you want me to get her?"

On any normal day, the answer would be without a doubt "yes". But this wasn't a normal day by any stretch of the imagination. This day was Fate and even Hotaru could feel it as she answered, "I just want to go to bed."

"Alright," Seishiro kissed the top of his sister's head before he picked her up and placed her gently in her bed as if she were a child. He subsequently receive a slightly scolding look from Hotaru in response. "What? I can't treat you like a princess anymore?"

"Don't push your luck, Brother," Hotaru warned sarcastically, fighting off a grin. She was silent for a moment before she finally asked, "Could you tell me the story? For old times' sake…"

Seishiro chuckled and pulled up a chair, "do you want the fairytale or what actually happened?"

"What's the difference?" Hotaru rolled her eyes, laughing.

"Well, you can hear my side of the story—"

"In your side of the story, you completely omit yourself," Hotaru pointed out. "What's wrong with being the fallen angel?"

Seishiro grimaced and fought back a blush. "I'm anything but, Hotaru…"

"Oh please!" Hotaru laughed. "You're practically a martyr!"

"…Am not…"

"Oh, whatever," Hotaru grinned as she rolled on her side. "Tell me the fairytale, since I'm still a little kid to you and all."

"Oh alright," Seishiro sighed as he began reciting: "_During the time of magic, there lived a maiden who traversed the earth without a place to call home or a soul to call friend. But every year when the night-lights glowed brightest, she met a fallen angel…"_

* * *

Almost midnight. She had left Seishiro to deal with Hotaru's temper hours ago and there was no word from him yet. There was no way that she was _that_ angry (if she were, the whole world would have heard it, despite how calm and collected the girl usually was) and if she was, Seishiro would have cried out for help ages ago. Something was wrong. Despite their agreement, Minko rose to her feet and made her way downstairs to Seishiro's room. As she lifted her hand to knock on the door, however, the small light that emitted from the bedroom three doors down caught the priestess's eye. Holding her breath, Minko tiptoed to the other room and pushed the door open. The light was dimmed, but Minko could still make out Hotaru's sleeping form buried under the covers. And there Seishiro sat, staring at his younger sister as if he were in a trance.

"Seishiro?" Minko whispered and suddenly the samurai sprang back to life. He jumped slightly and looked up at Minko, blinking a few times his eyes shifted quickly back and forth from one woman to the next and his face flushed.

"Oh, I am so sorry," Seishiro whispered back as he rose to his feet. He bent down and placed a gentle kiss on the side of Hotaru's forehead before he turned out her bedside lamp and slid his way out the room, closing the door. "How long have you been waiting?"

Minko chuckled and shook her head. "Doesn't matter," she said. "Though I am impressed that you handled this on your own this time."

"Well, this wasn't a girl issue for once," Seishiro sighed, embarrassed. That probably shocked Minko more than the fact that the samurai didn't duck and cover at Hotaru's temper's peek like he normally did. Usually when Hotaru got like that it pretty regularly involved lady troubles or boys. Seishiro didn't particularly want to deal with either and if Minko wasn't already there, he would call her and practically beg for her help.

"Her parents?" Minko then guessed. Seishiro jumped at that before he leaned against the wall and sighed heavily.

"Yes," the samurai finally answered. "Forgive me, but her parents' death is something that Hotaru doesn't ever want to talk about and I try to respect that fact, so my apologies if I do not answer any more questions regarding that."

"So that's why you didn't come get me," Minko finally realized. As much as it bugged her to no end—Kagome and Hotaru were both girls who could share anything with Minko and the former priestess loved playing the older sister role for both of them. The subject of her parents' death, however, despite Shippo sharing the story, was one that Hotaru would immediately shut down every time Minko brought it up, and she quickly learned to drop the subject altogether even before Seishiro finally told her that she confided in him with those problems. But then another thought struck the back of her mind, "You refer to them as if they were not your parents."

The samurai nearly leaped out of his skin and he shrunk away from Minko, stuttering in a manor that the priestess never thought possible of her calm and collected warrior. "I-uh-wh-what-what are you talking about?"

Minko blinked a few times. "Seishiro? You are Hotaru's brother…aren't you?"

Seishiro suddenly let out a nervous laugh. "Of course I am! I mean, I'm only what…um…" Seishiro then began counting on his fingers, but losing track of the numbers in his head as if he didn't know his own age. "…seven years older than her?"

"Try five," Minko narrowed her eyes. She had done the math to fake her relationship with Takeru for so long now the age difference was drilled into her head. Hotaru was the same age Takeru claimed to be and Minko claimed to be the same age as Seishiro.

"Right…oh, funny how time flies," Seishiro chuckled nervously, but Minko wasn't buying it. She had suspected that Seishiro's relationship with Hotaru was closer to Minko's relationship with Takeru but this…this was getting ridiculous. If Minko could tell both him and Shippo of her life story in the feudal era over a thousand years previous, why couldn't Seishiro just come clean with whatever he was hiding?

Speaking of Shippo, the fox demon had walked up behind the samurai in the middle of his nervous break down and began laughing uncontrollably once Minko caught him red handed. A nerve in snapped in Seishiro's head and he gave the kitsune a menacing glare. Shippo, however, was completely immune to his gaze and informed Minko, "Actually, try nine hundred and forty!"

"Shut up, _Kit_," Seishiro growled in a low voice, but Shippo continued howling.

"Of course that's give or take a couple hundred years because he's so _old!_" Shippo laughed, but that merely set Seishiro on edge even more to the point where something within him stirred and he shot Shippo a stare that was so cold, he almost looked like a heartless demon.

"Shut up, _Kit_, before I lop off your head," the samurai growled suddenly. The air stilled and Minko's heart stopped in her chest. Shippo's face paled and he backed away as if Seishiro were serious. The tone in his voice…it was like nothing Minko had ever heard before.

"Seishiro," Minko breathed suddenly. The samurai jumped and turned back to the priestess, his face paler than Shippo's as if he had uttered the unmentionable. Gears began turning in the back of Minko's mind, but before she could make any sort of recognition, before either could find the truth within one another, two hearts slowly began to beat as one.

"Minko," Seishiro finally muttered. "I guess there is no hiding from you now," he shot Shippo a dirty glare before continuing, "especially now that your past has come searching for you in the present."

"Okay?" Minko raised an eyebrow. Oh, there was more she didn't know? Great.

"I'm not what you think I am, Minko," Seishiro began and the priestess had a horrible feeling that he was about to overload her with information she didn't even want to know.

"Alright, if you're about to have some huge confession, let's just do one thing at a time, alright?" Minko pleaded. "It's late enough, I don't want to be cursed to a sleepless night because of some deep dark and depressing secret. Just start by telling me what you are to Hotaru."

"Well, I'm not her brother, if that's what you're asking," Seishiro began. "And I'm not someone who just found her parentless either. I've been by her side since the day she was born. You see…I was a very close friend with her parents. In fact, I am her Godfather."

Minko could have handled that news. It made sense even, and the former priestess had suspected it anyway. She hadn't even asked for any other answers. But then Seishiro added onto his explanation and Minko could have sworn that she lost twenty years off her life when he said: "I am also close to two thousand years old."

* * *

Takeru bounced down the stairs of the large manor ready for school the next morning. With the exception of the fact that he now felt like a rich lunatic wandering the halls of the Taisho household, it seemed like a pretty average morning.

At least he thought it was.

He found Minko sitting on the couch of their main living room (they had about three others) with her head in her hands as Seishiro held an ice pack over her forehead. She was pale and looked dazed, but otherwise shot menacing glares in the samurai's direction.

"What happened here?" Takeru asked as he entered the room. Minko suddenly shot up to alertness and panicked as if reality kicked in for her at that moment.

"Oh my gosh! I'm late for work!" she shrieked, rising to her feet as fast as she could but teetered and fell into Seishiro's arms.

"Well then tell your boss that you quit," he ordered. "With a bump on your head that large, you don't need to be going anywhere in a hurry. Doctor's orders."

"You aren't even a doctor!" Minko snapped back angrily. Her snarl fell to a blank expression and her lips turned ashen as if a horrifying realization hit her and her pupils dilated out of focus as she timidly asked, "please tell me you didn't…"

"He did," Shippo answered for her. "About…what, thirty years ago?"

Seishiro shrugged. "Roughly. I left practice when Hotaru was a little girl. It's hard raising your godchild by yourself when you're on call 24/7."

At that, Minko slumped forward and fell limply against the samurai's chest. Seishiro shrieked as he maneuvered to support her weight and gave Shippo a slightly startled glance but the kitsune merely shrugged and stated, "Told you she wouldn't want to hear it all at once."

"Hear what?" Takeru asked, staring at Minko with slight alarm. "What happened to Minks?"

"Shock," Seishiro grunted. "She uh…received some interesting news last night and hasn't been coping too well with it. Strange, I thought with everything she's been through she'd take this like a walk in the park."

"Come on, Seishiro," Shippo groaned. "This isn't the Minko you last met. I thought you of all people would keep that in mind what with all the lecturing you gave me."

"She went from the feudal era to the twenty-first century in a day, Kit!" Seishiro snapped. "And she's met demons older than me I thought she could handle it!"

"Yeah, two thousand year old demons sure! But I don't think Minko is the kind of person who wants to have an entire fairy tale based off of her!"

"Guys!" Takeru shouted, trying desperately to break the men apart for his own sake. "What are you talking about?"

Seishiro and Shippo both stared at the cat demon as if he had three heads. "Put your tail and ears away," Seishiro finally mumbled.

Takeru narrowed his eyes and disguised himself before he promptly crossed his arms and waited for his answer. The samurai paced around the living room for a brief moment and sighed, avoiding eye contact as he explained, "Well, for starters. I'm not Hotaru's brother, I'm her godfather. I'm also roughly two thousand years old."

"Demon?" Takeru guessed. He didn't see what part in that would cause Minko to faint.

"Kind of," Seishiro shrugged. "At least I used to be. But…the gods had other plans. Well, one god did. We know her best as Tsukiyomi but I remember her by a different name."

Okay, that was confusing.

"Tsukiyomi is a he," Takeru corrected. "He's Minko's father."

Seishiro crossed his arms nervously and pursed his lips shut as Shippo made a series of nervous sighs and other disgruntled noises.

"Tsukiyomi used to be the man who was Minko's father," Seishiro explained. "The gods can change their faces. Well, the gods can lend their powers to lesser beings for a short time. If too much time elapses however, especially if that being was originally mortal, at the time of their destined death they can ascend to take that god's position in Heaven. In Tsukiyomi's case—_my_ Tsukiyomi—her predecessor gave her his identity to protect her from a curse. She is in danger, however, as she is reaching the point of ascension. Normally that would be a good thing, but that would mean the death of her predecessor and she does not wish to become a god as she would have to accept the death of her mortal self and the consequences that come with it. Including my own death."

"Woah, slow down for a second, _what_?" Takeru asked suddenly. His head was beginning to swim. It was difficult enough to wrap his head around the fact that Minko was a _demigod_. Now suddenly there were rules about being a god? And Minko's father was a _woman_? No, no…Minko's father was hiding out somewhere and had turned someone else into Tsukiyomi. But still!

"Well, he's doing better than Minko did. At least we're getting somewhere," Shippo shrugged, but Seishiro merely grimaced.

"We're no further with Takeru than we are with Minko," the samurai sighed. "Yes, we got to explain a portion of the gods to him, but we didn't even get to the rest of it…much less Minko's role in this."

"You mean to tell me that there's more?" Takeru asked incredulously. He rubbed his head as if to pound the information in and took a deep breath. "And I'm just fine!"

Seishiro and Shippo exchanged hesitant glances before the samurai sighed, "Alright. Well, I suppose that brings me back to your initial question. I was a demon before Tsukiyomi became a god, and no, I refuse to tell you her original name, that would only condemn her fate as the curse has not yet been lifted. What I will say is that before Tsukiyomi was given her powers she was dying. Or more specifically, she was destined to die and take me along with her and she was desperate to save me. Minko's father took pity on her fate and chose to make her into a god. It temporarily prolonged my own life for about a decade but Tsukiyomi was too compassionate and wanted to stay by my side. Minko's father didn't particularly understand her fondness of me or her longing to resume a mortal life, but she has been unable to do either because such an action would only fulfill the curse that was placed on her. Amaterasu, the sun goddess, took pity on us however, and gave to us what little she could. She couldn't lift the curse, however, she placed a charm on the bond between Tsukiyomi and I that could do such a task if I were to change fate's course and meet Tsukiyomi in a time when she did not know me. More specifically, before she met me. Should I do that, and help her realize my identity in time, the curse would be lifted and Tsukiyomi could live as a mortal by my side once more. In addition, Amaterasu placed a blessing on my life force in order to extend the period before Tsukiyomi's ascension and my subsequent death. In short, I am a being who descended from heaven to fulfill his task."

Takeru felt sick to his stomach, barely able to comprehend what the hell Seishiro had just said. "What?"

Seishiro's poignant stature was almost completely derailed as his face fell and he fought to yell at Takeru demanding to know what was not to get, but Shippo rolled his eyes, knowing full well that the samurai was both too intelligent and too ignorant to understand that any normal person would find his explanation nothing more than insane gibberish. The kitsune patted his friend on the back and explained, "He's a fallen angel. More specifically, he's _the _fallen angel."

"Wait…so Seishiro's Tale…is about _you_?" Takeru gasped, pointing a shaking finger at the samurai who merely stared blankly back at the hanyou as if the news were blatantly obvious. Suddenly, the ground began tilting dangerously on the cat demon.

In the center of Seishiro's explanation, Minko had stirred and leaned back to take in the news about the gods and her father. She groaned and rubbed her temples as she listened. And as Takeru posed the near-panicked question, the priestess sighed, "Well that explains a lot."

All eyes suddenly turned to her and Minko shook her head, slowly puzzle pieces that had been long floating about in her head started connecting. "I can't explain what happened to my father between now and when I last saw him, but I understand it now, Seishiro…at least some of it."

Seishiro eyed Minko expectantly and with a knowing smile he asked, "then what do you make of it, Minko?"

"You're from the story, and you say that if this woman who is now Tsukiyomi dies, then you do as well," Minko recited. "You're lives are tied. Which means that you are her mate, am I right?"

Seishiro nodded his head and practically balanced on his toes as he leaned forward, waiting for the rest of Minko's explanation, but when none came, the samurai deflated slightly and forced himself to ask, "So who do you think the princess is?"

Minko shrugged and appeared to all but dash Seishiro's hopes and dreams when she asked, "Not a clue. But why does the story say the princess calls herself Midoriko?"

Seishiro looked as if he struggled to keep from showing disappointment on his face as he explained, "Centuries of oral tradition sometimes gets lost in translation. The story began around the same time as the legend of Priestess Midoriko came to light."

"Which one?" Minko asked, raising an eyebrow. At first, Takeru did not know what his sister was referring to, but Seishiro knew the priestess too well.

"Both of you," Seishiro explained. "The story of Priestess Midoriko the younger venturing with a daiyoukai lover, helping to bring piece among demon and humans alike spread all throughout the country. In addition, there was a dispute several hundred years ago over the possession of your mother's crystalized soul, which later became known as the Shikon Jewel. The three stories were often told in correspondence with one another, but after a time, the three began to converge and translation errors occurred. I believe Sesshomaru was a dog rather than a wolf, yes?"

Minko narrowed her eyes and a hallow feeling consumed the pit of her stomach. "I never told you that."

Seishiro's back stiffened and Shippo shot the samurai a pointed glare, watching as the man struggled to explain his knowledge and recover from the flub.

But it was Takeru who broke through all rational conversation as he shrieked, "I think we're getting past the important points here. Would someone please explain to me how Seishiro became a central figure in a children's story?"

The samurai and priestess both groaned internally. Minko let her head fall into her hands and Seishiro fought every muscle in his body that contorted in an attempt to wring the kitten's neck.

"As I just explained," Seishiro breathed evenly, "What happened to Tsukiyomi and I occurred in roughly the same time period as what happened to you and Minko. Just after Minko's disappearance, her mother's soul became known as the shikon jewel which caused several disputes for custody between humans and demons. _Oral tradition_ often lumps stories that occurred _at the same time_ together and translation errors occur and start making people like me out as angels! Do you or do you not understand?"

Takeru was silent for a long time, his expression blank as ever. Finally he asked, "Could you just run that by me one more time?"

Seishiro wanted to throttle the cat demon for being so dense.

"I think we're getting away from my point here," the samurai forced himself to say. "Everything I told you was just so you had a better understanding of what was happening. You see, Minko, Takeru, there are events that will unfold in the near future that could shake the foundation of Time itself. It's bad enough that Kagome has opened the Void between the feudal era and this time period."

As Seishiro spoke, an image of the eight-headed dragon that disappeared dragging Minko and Takeru along with it flashed across the priestess's mind. "Did you say void?" Minko asked.

Seishiro crossed his arms and nodded, but Shippo took his turn to speak, "Minko, on the day that you and Takeru were brought to this time period, something happened to Time itself. It's hard to explain, but the reason Kagome is able to travel through the well at her shrine is because of the void Orochi created. The gods can travel between different time periods as they please, but when they created the world of mortals, they set certain restrictions that kept mortals moving along in a linear fashion. Think of it as a string that has been stretched out and laid flat. But Orochi didn't just attack you for the sake of destroying you. He went after you for who you are, and he chose to fight you when you were at your weakest. When he was near defeat however, he used a failsafe that the gods had forbidden amongst themselves—he tore a hole through time, cut the string in two—that void hasn't left since the day he opened it, and subconsciously humans built a well around that void. That's the well Kagome travels through. But Orochi uses the void too. He can even hide inside of it and show up in any time period he pleases. The well is being held open in the specific time period that Kagome has been traveling too because of the Shikon Jewel and she and Inuyasha are the only ones who can travel through it because they have ties to both sides but only exist on one side."

"But what does my mother's soul have to do with this?" Minko asked, her head starting to spin again. "And if we can only go to whatever point Inuyasha's been living in, what about Orochi?"

"The Shikon Jewel is not something you need to worry about just yet, Minko," Seishiro said, placing a gentle hand on the priestess's shoulder. "That is a task Kagome and Inuyasha must complete. As for Orochi…he has only ever appeared twice since he opened the void. The first time, I witnessed his defeat first hand and Tsukiyomi was able to lift our curse. The second time, however, Orochi was gravely wounded from his battle with you, Minko."

Minko glanced up at Takeru after that explanation and they both shook their heads. What part of _that_ made any sense at all? The priestess glanced back at Shippo and Seishiro, but before she could ask either of them anything, Shippo opened his mouth, smiling wide and asked, "Have either of you seen Dr. Who?"

Both priestess and cat demon shook their heads numbly. Shippo deflated slightly.

"Well, there goes that analogy…" the kitsune whined. Seishiro groaned.

"As I said before, Orochi is able to appear in any time period he wants and can hide within the void. He has a separate timeline from our own. And Tsukiyomi has a separate timeline from me. Minko, you are also on a different timeline than Sesshomaru. You have yet to meet your mate in this time period, yet you are still alive, which means he is also alive, but because of the void he may be living in the feudal era with Inuyasha still."

"Okay," Minko breathed. "So…does that mean the Orochi's second reappearance here was right after our battle for him?"

"Precisely," Seishiro answered, "and his rise to power and subsequent defeat five hundred years ago was his ultimate demise, but for us we still had yet to see him again. The last time I spoke with Tsukiyomi however, she said that before Orochi rose up five hundred years ago, he would appear sometime in our near future pursuing a priestess named Midoriko. Though my mate's curse was broken, my half of the curse would not be broken until said priestess fulfilled her duty and sent Orochi back to the feudal era for Tsukiyomi to defeat. Only then would the void be repaired and only then would Midoriko reunite with her mate and only then would I reunite with Tsukiyomi."

At _that_, Minko shot up to her feet: "For me to _what_?"

Seishiro blinked a few times, "You can relax, I'll help you fulfill this quest—"

Minko didn't allow the samurai time to finish. She grasped hold of Seishiro's shirt sleeves and yanked him so he was in her face as she shook him madly, "You mean to tell me that I can be with Sesshomaru again? And you're waiting until _now_ to even mention it?"

"Well…yes…" Seishiro blinked.

"WHY?" Minko screamed, her voice shifting up three octaves.

"The timing wasn't right," Seishiro explained as if it made perfect sense. When Minko's angry glare was unwavering, the samurai sighed heavily and further explained, "Tsukiyomi said that the time would come for Midoriko to know the truth about her lover when she began inquiring who I was."

"That's what I've been doing since we've met!" Minko screamed, shaking Seishiro with such force that his head jarred back and forth as she did so.

"Not—the—way—I—was—looking—for—!" Seishiro tried to say as his head rolled back and forth, creating a wonderful case of whiplash. He finally pushed Minko away and stepped back from her as he gripped the back of his neck and groaned in discomfort. "I had to sense it from you—that you were close to figuring me out, I mean. Look, when you're mated to a goddess, things tend to get really complicated."

"Obviously!" Minko roared as she set her hands on her hips. "I don't see why you had to wait so long to tell me though, my gods!"

Suddenly, the expressions on both Seishiro's and Shippo's faces fell and as the two exchanged nervous glances but said nothing. The whole world almost appeared to darken with their eyes in that moment. Minko held in a breath. Before either demon could say more, Hotaru came bouncing down the stairs with her bag in tow.

"Takeru, are you walking with me to school today?" she asked, a faint blush running across her cheeks. The mood and conversation was temporarily interrupted by the flow of an everyday routine. But even as Minko and Seishiro saw their "siblings" off to school, the priestess couldn't ignore the pit in her stomach that was about to form. But Seishiro wouldn't speak further about the topic. He refused—no, he ignored it completely altogether! Towards the end of the day, when Shippo ran off to class and Seishiro to the grocery store, Minko found herself sitting in the dojo of the manor staring up at the decorative swords, her eyes on the one resting in a black sheath. She rose to her feet and allowed her fingers to trace along the embroidered hilt. It was a work of art, and just like the day before, Minko couldn't bring herself to ignore the sensation of familiarity bubble up in her chest.

Minko took the sword down from the wall and set it in her lap. Without thinking, she unsheathed it, running her finger along the dulled blade. Not only did the sword ring familiar bells, but it brought her _comfort_. It had to be…

"Are you alright, Minko?" Seishiro asked from behind. The priestess jumped and turned to find the samurai standing at the door to the dojo, soaked from the now pouring rain with shopping bags in either hand. Suddenly, he no longer looked like the friend Minko had come to know. He didn't even look like a stranger she met in the hallways her first day of school. He was a dirty liar who had done nothing but hide secrets away from her. Possibly even hide the man most dear to her from her.

"I'm only going to ask you this once," MInko spat as she approached the stranger, the hilt of the sword resting firmly in her clenched fists. She knew a dull blade wouldn't do anything to him, but she swung the blade with an expert hand and pressed it against Seishiro's neck. "What the hell did you do to Sesshomaru?"

Seishiro blinked in surprise and his face paled, his chocolate eyes filling with remorse as if he had been betrayed, "What do you mean?"

Minko let out a frustrated growl and waved the sword's blade in his face. "This is his sword! This is Tenseiga! You can't just hang it up like some trophy and expect me to glance over it like it means nothing to me! Why is it even hanging here in the first place? Was that your prize from slaughtering him? And what about the white one over there? Is that the weapon you killed him with? Huh?"

"What? No! Minko, I would never do that to you!" Seishiro declared, almost sounding hurt. He pushed away from Minko and gently took Tenseiga into his hands. "And Sesshomaru is not dead! If he were, then you would be as well! This sword, Tenseiga…you are right, it is his sword—well, his father's sword, but I am simply holding onto it for safekeeping. And you are correct in saying that the other one is my sword but…" Seishiro trailed off for a moment as he walked over to the wall and sheathed Tenseiga and setting it back on its perch before grasping the other one and pulling it out of its scabbard. The blade reflected light so beautifully it almost gave off an emerald glow.

Minko narrowed her eyes, "I thought that one's blade was rusted to the scabbard."

"I'm sorry, I did have to lie about that," Seishiro said. "The sword only responds to me. But someday it will recognize Tsukiyomi and protect her as well." Seishiro then pressed the blade gently in Minko's hands. The priestess stared down at the sword in awe. It was a magnificently crafted blade. It pulsed in her hand, and suddenly, the mysterious sword gave Minko a similar sense of comfort that Tenseiga had. She looked up to see Seishiro staring intently into her eyes as he added, "and now, it shall recognize you, Minko."

"I don't understand," Minko shook her head. Seishiro sighed and sheathed his sword.

"It is a difficult tale to tell," he admitted. "But for now, I need you to just accept what I have told you. The sooner you do, the better off you will be."

"But why now?" Minko asked? "We've known each other for five years and you wait to tell me all of this now?"

"I had to wait, Minko," Seishiro said solemnly. "I wanted to tell you sooner, believe me. But I couldn't. You weren't ready."

"Ready for what?" Minko asked.

Seishiro took another deep breath and held his sword out for Minko. "Before I tell you," he said, "I need you to promise me something."

"Okay, what?" Minko asked.

"Promise me that you will never forget this sword. Remember what it looks like—every single detail—and remember that it is mine and only mine. No one else has ever wielded this sword and no one else ever would. This sword is tied to my very life itself. You have to remember this, Minko, if nothing else. If you receive no other clues as to who I am, let this be your beacon. You have got to remember this sword. Promise me that you will," Seishiro pleaded. It was all Minko could do to even respond.

"Alright, I will remember that," she answered. "But why?"

"Priestess Midoriko," Seishiro said in a low voice, "the reason I've hid my identity from you, the reason you must remember this sword, and the reason I had to wait to tell you is because you had to be ready to accept the fate that awaits you."

"And what is that?" Minko asked, her heart rate climbing. This was becoming a little too much to handle, but even then, it paled in comparison to what really awaited her future:

"You are going to die."


End file.
